Lake Forest approves new 52-home development
Jan. 13, 2016 Updated Jan. 14, 2016 12:20 p.m.
By TOMOYA SHIMURA / STAFF WRITER
LAKE FOREST ? The City Council has given the green light to a new 52-home gated community near the Irvine border, with some residents applauding the project as a solution to the housing shortage, while others questioned whether the developer influenced council members with money.
The City Council on Dec. 15 voted, 3-2, in favor of approving the Encanto project, with Councilmen Jim Gardner and Adam Nick opposed.
The council also approved rezoning the undeveloped 5.75-acre property at the southwest corner of Alton Parkway and Commercentre Drive from high technology business and commercial to residential to make way for the project.
The decision was finalized on Jan. 5 after the council approved the second reading.
The Encanto project is adjacent to the Shea/Baker Ranch community, which features 2,379 homes and a 7.25-acre public park. Meritage Homes plans to build three-bedroom detached homes with two-car garages and yards in the gated Encanto community.
The site was graded in 1989 as a temporary storm drain detention basin for surrounding industrial development. In 2012, the city received an application from a developer to build an office and manufacturing facility on the site, according to a city staff report. But the developer withdrew the application before the public hearing because of development and land costs, the report says.
More than a dozen people spoke during the December council meeting, with a majority of them supporting the Encanto project.
Supporters said the project will help alleviate the housing shortage in Orange County, especially for first-time home buyers and young families.
Council members supporting the project said an estimated $2.87 million in impact fees from the developer will help the city improve public facilities, including sports parks. If the site remains empty, the city wouldn?t get any benefits, they said.
Opponents said the new development will add traffic and crowd local schools. Gardner said construction and new homes will increase water use in the midst of a drought.
Others said that Meritage Homes influenced council members with money to vote in their favor. Meritage Homes gave $10,000 to Laguna Niguel-based political action committee Restore California, which spent money on behalf of candidates Scott Voigts and Andrew Hamilton during the 2014 election, according to campaign finance documents.
Voigts and Hamilton voted in favor of the Encanto project, along with Dwight Robinson.
Voigts and Hamilton told The Register in 2014 ? before the election ? that they didn?t know where the committee?s funds came from, or that the PAC planned to back them, but that if elected, their stances on city issues would not be swayed by the money.
They reiterated during the December council meeting that the money didn?t influence their votes.
State election law prohibits groups ? typically political action committees funded by businesses or labor unions ? making independent expenditures from coordinating with candidates on whose behalf they are spending.
Contact the writer: 949-445-6397 or tshimura@ocregister.com
Jan. 13, 2016 Updated Jan. 14, 2016 12:20 p.m.
By TOMOYA SHIMURA / STAFF WRITER
LAKE FOREST ? The City Council has given the green light to a new 52-home gated community near the Irvine border, with some residents applauding the project as a solution to the housing shortage, while others questioned whether the developer influenced council members with money.
The City Council on Dec. 15 voted, 3-2, in favor of approving the Encanto project, with Councilmen Jim Gardner and Adam Nick opposed.
The council also approved rezoning the undeveloped 5.75-acre property at the southwest corner of Alton Parkway and Commercentre Drive from high technology business and commercial to residential to make way for the project.
The decision was finalized on Jan. 5 after the council approved the second reading.
The Encanto project is adjacent to the Shea/Baker Ranch community, which features 2,379 homes and a 7.25-acre public park. Meritage Homes plans to build three-bedroom detached homes with two-car garages and yards in the gated Encanto community.
The site was graded in 1989 as a temporary storm drain detention basin for surrounding industrial development. In 2012, the city received an application from a developer to build an office and manufacturing facility on the site, according to a city staff report. But the developer withdrew the application before the public hearing because of development and land costs, the report says.
More than a dozen people spoke during the December council meeting, with a majority of them supporting the Encanto project.
Supporters said the project will help alleviate the housing shortage in Orange County, especially for first-time home buyers and young families.
Council members supporting the project said an estimated $2.87 million in impact fees from the developer will help the city improve public facilities, including sports parks. If the site remains empty, the city wouldn?t get any benefits, they said.
Opponents said the new development will add traffic and crowd local schools. Gardner said construction and new homes will increase water use in the midst of a drought.
Others said that Meritage Homes influenced council members with money to vote in their favor. Meritage Homes gave $10,000 to Laguna Niguel-based political action committee Restore California, which spent money on behalf of candidates Scott Voigts and Andrew Hamilton during the 2014 election, according to campaign finance documents.
Voigts and Hamilton voted in favor of the Encanto project, along with Dwight Robinson.
Voigts and Hamilton told The Register in 2014 ? before the election ? that they didn?t know where the committee?s funds came from, or that the PAC planned to back them, but that if elected, their stances on city issues would not be swayed by the money.
They reiterated during the December council meeting that the money didn?t influence their votes.
State election law prohibits groups ? typically political action committees funded by businesses or labor unions ? making independent expenditures from coordinating with candidates on whose behalf they are spending.
Contact the writer: 949-445-6397 or tshimura@ocregister.com
