Other Home Ranch alternatives were considered

Lolita Harper

It is the last piece of developable land in Costa Mesa. The last

parcel of unpaved, unbuilt lima bean farm that tells the story of Orange

County’s agricultural history. But it has been said time and time again,

it cannot stay bean fields forever.

Something will be built on the 93 acres of land just north of the San

Diego Freeway. The question is what.

C.J. Segerstrom & Sons has tried for 20 years to develop three Home

Ranch projects, the most recent one is expected to be voted on by the

Costa Mesa City Council on Monday. If the proposal for a 17-acre Ikea

property, 252,648 square feet of industrial space for Emulex, 791,050

square feet of commercial office space and 192 homes is not supported by

council members, the developers are prepared to build on the property as

recommended by the 1990 general plan, spokesman Paul Freeman said.

The general plan calls for the land north of South Coast Drive to be

reserved for housing and the south portion of the property to be used for

industrial use.

Kimberly Brandt, the lead city planner on the Home Ranch project, said

contrary to some scare tactics being used, the city has the control to

ensure that high-quality, attractive buildings are built in an industrial

zone. The development must be planned and reviewed by the Planning

Commission and the City Council before it can be built.

Opponents of the project have said the general plan allows for a

mixture of attractive industrial warehouses and office space. Low-density

office headquarters can be built on the site without having to allow an

increase in traffic, they say.

The general plan was designed for slow growth to protect residents

from large amounts of traffic and big-box retailers, which is exactly

what the Segerstroms want to bring to the city, opponents say. Those who

challenge the developer’s most recent proposal for the land call for C.J.

Segerstrom & Sons to stick to the spirit of the general plan.

Freeman said the developers are more than willing to build according

to the general plan if the Home Ranch project is not approved. C.J.

Segerstrom & Sons could build 366 homes, including rentals, and

industrial manufacturing warehouses, city Planning Manager Mike Robinson

said.

Building according to the general plan also requires only $1.9 million

in traffic-related fees but, admittedly, creates less traffic, Freeman

said. But none of the other public benefits would be applicable, he said.

Ten other alternatives were considered before the city’s planning

department staff recommended the approval of the current Home Ranch

proposal, Robinson said.

Included was the option of no development -- which is not possible,

Robinson said -- the general plan alternative that included an Ikea

store, and an option to keep the proposed project but substitute the

commercial office space with more industrial land use.

The latter option was referred to in staff reports as Alternative C

and gained approval from Planning Commissioner Bruce Garlich in

September. It was an attempt to find a compromise between the benefits of

the sales tax from Ikea and trying to avoid the traffic, Garlich said.

His motion to recommend Alternative C to the City Council failed, and the

commission endorsed the applicant’s proposal.

Despite the large number of alternative proposals, city staff

concluded that the Segerstrom firm’s proposal was a far better use of the

land, Robinson said. Alternative A -- as the Home Ranch proposal is

called in staff reports -- was the only feasible use for the site,

Robinson said.

* Lolita Harper covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4275 or by e-mail at o7 lolita.harper@latimes.comf7 .