Home Ranch developers propose a revision

Jennifer Kho

COSTA MESA -- Changes may be afoot for the proposed Home Ranch plan as

officials for C.J. Segerstrom & Sons announced they would be willing to

build high-quality, single-family townhomes or condominiums instead of

high-density apartments.

The original proposal for the 93-acre project was redesigned last year

to add housing, as well as to reduce building heights and the square-foot

density of the office space.

The latest proposal would reduce the density from 29 homes per acre to

between 12 and 18 homes per acre, said Carol Hoffman, principal for

Government Solutions, which conducted tours of the property Monday and

Tuesday.

The amended plan for the site -- a lima bean farm bordered by the San

Diego Freeway, Fairview Road, Harbor Boulevard and Sunflower Avenue --

calls for a 308,000-square-foot Ikea furniture store, 791,050 square feet

of office space, 252,648 square feet of industrial business and 464

homes.

Though she awaits more information on the revision, Mayor Libby Cowan

said it shows the developer is listening and responding to the community.

“I’m very interested in what they have to say, and I look forward to

the negotiation process,” Cowan said. “I think there are opportunities

for us to do a quality project.”

Planning Commissioner Walt Davenport said the revision could change

some minds.

“I know the community has had some concerns about high-density rental

housing, and I think the suggestion to go to a lower-density home

ownership is going to alleviate some concern,” he said.

Councilman Chris Steel was not available for comment but previously

has said he was concerned about the rental housing. Citizens for the

Improvement of Costa Mesa Chairwoman Janice Davidson said Monday the

change begins to create a much better project.

But Robin Leffler, another Costa Mesa resident, said her opinion

remained unchanged. Her concerns include the aesthetics of the Ikea store

and the parts of the project expected to “significantly exceed” the

general plan requirements for the site, such as traffic generation and

the density of the industrial park.

Three homeowners associations worry that the project could strain

police and fire services, and increase traffic and urban runoff.

In two recent tours, Segerstrom and Ikea officials offered

counterpoints to many of the concerns.

The freeway would block most homes’ views of the Ikea, which would in

turn be most visible from the freeway, Hoffman said.

Even considering the project’s cost to city services, the tax revenue

the project is expected to generate will bring the city a net profit of

$1.7 million each year, she said, while a project built to comply with

the current general plan would cost the city about $45,286 annually.

Hoffman also explained that the housing is proposed at Sunflower

Avenue and Susan Street, not at Fairview Road and South Coast Drive,

which some opponents had feared.

The final tour is scheduled to take place from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. May

12, with a reservation deadline of Wednesday.

For more information, call (714) 754-5610.