Comment period extended for Home Ranch

Andrew Glazer

COSTA MESA -- Residents have until May 19 to request information that was

not included in a developer’s report about how a proposed office park and

furniture store could impact the city.

The public review period for the Home Ranch project’s environmental study

was scheduled to end Wednesday, but city officials decided to extend it

because there weren’t enough copies of the two-volume report available at

the front desk of the Planning Department.

“Also, there’s a lot of material to review,” said City Manager Allan

Roeder. “We’d prefer to err on the side of giving more time.”

The 93-acre site of the proposed project is a lima bean field between

Fairview Road and Harbor Boulevard, just north of the San Diego Freeway.

The city originally designated the land for homes and small industry. But

C.J. Segerstrom & Sons are asking the city to let them build a home

furnishings store and nearly 2 million square feet of office space there.

Homeowners living near the proposed site have been overwhelmingly opposed

to the project, saying it would pump new traffic and air pollution into

the area, and that a planned nine-story tower would stand out in the

neighborhood.

State law requires the city-hired consultants who prepared the report to

respond to all questions about how the project would physically affect

the area.

Copies of the report are available at the city’s Planning Department, 77

Fair Drive, and at city libraries.