BREA : 867-Unit Project Heads for Hearing

The Planning Commission will conduct a public hearing Tuesday regarding plans for the Olinda Heights master-planned residential community.

A key concern Brea residents and city officials have about the project is the amount of traffic that would be generated, especially on narrow and frequently congested Carbon Canyon Road.

The environmental impact report estimates that Olinda Heights would generate a daily average of nearly 7,000 trips and significantly affect intersections in the area.

The developer, Santa Fe Energy Resources, proposes to build 867 single-family homes, an elementary school and recreational facilities north of Carbon Canyon Road and east of Valencia Avenue, in the hillsides near Brea.

Also planned for the 284-acre site are a senior citizens complex and housing for faculty and staff members from Cal State Fullerton, Cal Poly Pomona, the Brea Olinda Unified School District and other educational institutions.

Remnants of Brea’s past would be preserved with an 11-acre interpretive center featuring original buildings from the oil boom town of Olinda. The town sprang up around the turn of the century and went into decline during the Great Depression.

The Olinda Heights property is in an unincorporated area of the county and would be annexed to Brea as part the final approval process.

The Planning Commission hearing on the project is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Brea Civic & Cultural Center, 1 Civic Center Circle. Information: (714) 990-7600.