Home Ranch report earns planners’ OK

COSTA MESA -- The Planning Commission took a first step toward making

the Home Ranch project a reality when it unanimously agreed Monday to

recommend that the City Council approve the environmental report for the

development.

However the recommendation of the report to the council does not mean

the project is approved yet, Planning Commission Chairwoman Katrina Foley

said. It does mean the commission deems the report sufficient for the

project, she said. The City Council will make the final decision.

“I’d be watching Sports Center if I had my choice, but I spent hours

upon hours reviewing the documents and I feel that our noise consultants

have done their job and done their job well,” Commissioner Bill Perkins

said.

The environmental report was the first of a series of approvals C.J.

Segerstrom & Sons was requesting at Monday night’s meeting in the

company’s attempt to develop the former lima bean farm off the San Diego

Freeway.

Unlike the last meeting, public comment was not limited. During the

Sept. 10 meeting, commissioners enforced a rule that only individuals who

had new information or had not yet spoken would be allowed to comment on

the project. Although the official public comment period on the report

was closed at the last meeting, state law mandates that public comment be

heard before any action is taken by a governing body, Assistant City

Atty. Tom Wood said.

Foley reminded the audience numerous times that discussion must be

relevant to the environmental report only, and not to the project as a

whole. Yet even those who strayed from the specific topic were allowed to

continue speaking.

Costa Mesa Citizens for Responsible Growth are arguably the most vocal

group opposing the project. Members contend that a 308,000-square-foot

Ikea furniture store, the most controversial part, among other industrial

buildings and housing, would hurt the city by increasing pollution and

traffic and decreasing the overall quality of life.

In addition to the environmental report, C.J. Segerstrom & Sons has

applied for two general plan amendments, a rezone petition, a

conditional-use permit and a development agreement. Each remaining issue

was discussed at the meeting but no action was taken by press time.

Paul Freeman, a spokesman for Segerstrom & Sons, had hoped a decision

would be made on at least the environmental report for the project. The

report was the least political item, he said, and supported by facts that

can be easily discussed.

The Segerstrom firm has been trying to develop the land -- bordered by

the San Diego Freeway, Fairview Road, Harbor Boulevard and Sunflower

Avenue -- for 20 years. The project has changed greatly over the past

decades, varying from twin tower high rises to its current design, which

incorporates single-family residential homes.

The most recent plan calls for a 17-acre Ikea furniture store, 791,050

square feet of office space, 252,648 square feet of industrial use and

192 homes.