Countywide : Foothill/Trabuco Plan Public Hearing Is Today

The Orange County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing today on a plan to establish growth guidelines for 6,500 acres of rugged canyons and hills east of Mission Viejo.

The Foothill/Trabuco Specific Plan, a development blueprint that took county planners two years to produce, has divided residents and property owners in the sparsely populated Trabuco Canyon area over how much growth should be allowed. The county has proposed allowing up to 1,700 homes to be built in the area, along with a major new road through the backcountry.

Environmentalists and a coalition of local residents contend that the plan will destroy the area’s rural character and ruin wildlife habitat and migration corridors. But a group of property owners argue that the county proposal restricts development too much and will hurt property values and the ability to subdivide large parcels.

Many believe the outcome of the Foothill/Trabuco debate may set a precedent for development in the county’s vanishing backcountry. Today’s hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. in the Hall of Administration in Santa Ana.