Orange Heights – Heights of Folly

It’s hard to believe that at this environmentally perilous time, the Irvine Company wants to develop 1180 homes in the rural foothills of Orange!  Here’s why this development is insane:

• The area lies between two high fire hazard severity zones in the state’s responsibility area: Chino Hills and the northern end of the Santa Ana Mountains.  The development is located in the City of Orange that has its own fire hazard maps that show the area as a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone.  As climate change tightens its grip on our county, fire insurance may not be available at affordable rates, or not available at all.
• The development would sever the wildlife corridor between Irvine Regional Park and Peters Canyon that supports mountain lions, mule deer, bobcats, grey foxes, long-tailed weasels, white-tailed kites, coastal California gnatcatchers, coastal cactus wrens, and many other sensitive species.
• The 1180 homes would be far from amenities such as shops, schools, and transit hubs therefore causing increased traffic – read CO2 emissions – and the attendant road congestion.

It must be said that the Orange Heights development is the only remnant of an Irvine Company behemoth master plan that envisioned 12,000 homes in 1989.  This project would have developed what are now the Limestone, Fremont, Weir, and Black Star Canyons preserved lands, as well as areas around Irvine Lake.  But even so, this remaining development is environmentally untenable.

EM