Lost views, lost tempers

Noaki Schwartz

NEWPORT BEACH -- Residents in the Sea Wind community are upset over what

they feel is the unannounced development of a portion of the Newport

Coast hillside, which is part of their view.

“It’s all news to us,” said resident Allen Murray. “It was processed

outside and we weren’t notified.”

An Oct. 27 letter announcing the grading of the Newport Ridge North

project was the first formal notification they’ve received, the residents

say. Prior to that, they learned about the development because they

literally heard the bulldozers digging into the hillside one morning.

But, said Irvine Co. spokesman Paul Kranhold, the planning process for

this development has been in the works openly for years. The

environmental report was available for public comment as early as 1996.

“The whole notification process program is the responsibility of

government agencies,” Kranhold said. “We sent the letter not because we

were required to, but to be good neighbors.”

Dave Mathews, director of county planning, said the standard procedure is

to notify residents who live within 300 feet of a project. If the

residents at Sea Wind did not know about the development, he said, then

it is possible the information was not disclosed by the previous

homeowner.

Residents, armed with 70 letters from their 119-home community,

approached the Irvine Co. requesting that it stop the grading for a few

days in order to give the two parties time to discuss the matter. The

grading continued.

The Irvine Co., Kranhold said, has tried to be open to discussion.

“We sent them a letter two and a half weeks ago, met with them twice and

are meeting with them again shortly,” he said. “We have invited open

dialogue.”

Still, residents feel the Irvine Co. is in a hurry to build the

development without considering the surrounding communities. Some even

suggested the developer is trying to finish the project before Newport’s

impending annexation of Newport Coast next year.

“The Irvine Co. has always been fair,” said resident Mary-Anne Weber.

“This is the first time they have been sneaky in going through the

county. Why go to the county when you know you’re going to be annexed?”

However, Newport Beach Deputy City Manager Dave Kiff said the entitlement

would be the same, regardless of if it went through the county or Newport

Beach.

In fact, the planned community of Newport Ridge was approved in 1986,

long before annexation began to look likely.

“Everybody’s known about it in the planning community. It’s been fully

entitled the whole time,” Kiff said.

Part of the problem, Kranhold said, is that the land being developed has

fallen under various jurisdictions. As recently as 1998, it was annexed

from Irvine by the county, and is now expected to be annexed by Newport

Beach.

A more likely reason for the continued development is a strong demand for

homes.

Earlier this summer, when the Ladera Ranch development in South Orange

County opened its first models for viewing, a couple thousand people were

expected. Mathews said 25,000 potential home buyers showed up.