ORANGE : Planners Take No Stand on Project

A revised plan for a controversial 37-acre development along Santiago Creek will go back to the City Council without any recommendation from the Orange Planning Commission, which had opposed the original proposal.

Burnett-Ehline Development Co. of Anaheim wants to build 160 houses, a seven-acre shopping center and a 3.5-acre greenbelt with walkways and bicycle paths on the Santiago Creek Golf Course property. The plan has drawn criticism from the Santiago Creek Homeowners Assn., which wants the golf course to remain.

In December, the Planning Commission recommended that the City Council deny Burnett-Ehline’s plan, but the council referred the project back to the commission after the plan was modified.

Originally, the plan included the extension of La Veta Avenue from Tustin Street to Cambridge Avenue, which many residents said would create noise and traffic. The developer’s plan replaces the La Veta extension with a greenbelt area and reduces the number of houses from 180 to 160.

Planning commissioners said Monday that they did not have time to thoroughly review the plan.

“We’re not really sure about a lot of details because the plan was put together hastily,” said Joan Wolff, senior project planner for the city.

The City Council is scheduled to reconsider the project on Feb. 20.