Hearing to Discuss Foothill Homes Plan

The public will have its first opportunity today to comment on a proposal to build 9,800 homes in the hills east of San Juan Capistrano and construct a major bypass of Interstate 5.

“This project is going to draw a lot of attention once the word gets out about it,” said Pete DeSimone, manager of the Audubon Society’s Starr Ranch Sanctuary. “I’ll be following this one.”

Officials of developer Santa Margarita Co. say that the housing project would be several years in the future and that no specific plans have been made yet. The community would be built on 5,000 acres of ranchland known as the Horno area.

The freeway proposal, in the works for several years, would realign Antonio Parkway through the Horno area as a parallel route to Interstate 5 and would give South County residents a way around the congested freeway.

County officials say they want to plan now for roads to accommodate the added traffic when the Horno area is eventually developed.

County Projects Manager Ron Tippets said that the general boundary of the proposed community is to be presented to the Planning Commission by August.

“We will not be looking at building permits or anything that exact,” Tippets said. “That’s a long way off.”

The hearing, which will review an environmental report on the projects, will be at Carl H. Hankey Elementary School, 27252 Nubles Road, Mission Viejo, at 7 p.m.