Yorba Linda : Development Plan Clears First Hurdle

Preliminary plans for an 879-acre development on the city’s northern border were unanimously approved this week by the Planning Commission.

The five-member commission approved the plan with one small but significant change: Traffic from the estimated 2,300 new homes in the development will no longer use Prospect Avenue as a major route in and out of the area, but will instead travel primarily on Valley View and Lakeview avenues.

The change was in response to concerns about traffic from residents who live off Prospect just south of the project area. Initial plans for the development would have extended Prospect north into the new neighborhoods, connecting with Lakeview and serving as a likely route in and out of the area.

Now, city officials have agreed to prevent Prospect from becoming a heavily traveled street, possibly by making it a cul-de-sac at Lakeview instead of an intersection.

The approval by the Planning Commission is the first of several hurdles the project must clear before the landowner, Shell Oil, can begin development. The commission and the City Council still must approve agreements covering what the project will look like and on development of a golf course and parks. Annexation of the unincorporated land must be approved by the Local Agency Formation Commission.