REBUTTAL

Your article on the Orange County Planning Commission’s approval of

The Irvine Co.’s plan to reduce the amount of grading in its Newport

Ridge North project currently under construction contained errors

(“Irvine Co. project under scrutiny,” May 11). Here are the facts:

The Irvine Co. representatives have been meeting with the Seawind

neighbors who live near the construction site about how to best address

the noise of the construction equipment. The company has received

complaints from the neighbors about contractors starting their grading

work prior to 7 a.m. (the article erroneously reported that it was the

blasting of bedrock, which never occurs in the morning hours), and has

investigated each one.

To address this issue, the Irvine Co. has hired a special, dedicated

security guard whose sole job will be to ensure that no contractor on our

project begins work before work before 7 a.m. or continues work after

7:30 p.m. The security guard -- who recently started -- will be on the

site from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. He will complete a daily log of start and stop

times for grading and other activity on our site, which will be shared

with the Seawind Neighborhood Assn. president.

In addition, the security guard will carry a pager so that the Seawind

residents can contact him to immediately investigate any complaints from

neighbors about construction start and stop times. The follow-up to any

complaints will also be included in the daily log.

We understand the impacts that construction projects sometimes have on

surrounding residences, and will continue to do everything we can to

minimize these impacts.

NORM WITT

The Irvine Co., vice president, land development

Newport Beach