Orange County: Projects and Developments

[Buckeye Native 001]

Oh boo-fucking-hoo, Irvine.

[dragonsky]

Thursday, July 26, 2007
Cows hit the beach in Surf City
The stunt promoted the Orange County Fair with its theme 'Cowabunga! The year of Herefords, surfers and sand.'
By LAYLAN CONNELLY
The Orange County Register



"It's the running of bulls in Huntington, dude."

Well, Tad Linquist's claim was just a tad off. The livestock on the sand were cattle. And only one out of the hundred started running.

Hundreds of spectators lined the Huntington Beach Pier early this morning to watch as 100 steer and 25 horses walked 1.5 miles from Golden West Street down Pacific Coast Highway, then on the sand to the site of the U.S. Open of Surfing competition.

"I've seen cattle in Kentucky and Texas … but never in Huntington Beach," said Greg Baugh, 42. "I bet these lifeguards never thought they'd be herding cattle."

"I've never done this for my job," said Huntington Beach lifeguard Chris Hubbard, who was on a four-wheel quad keeping the crowds away from the animals.

The publicity stunt was a way to raise awareness for the Orange County Fair, which has a theme this year of "Cowabunga! The year of Herefords, surfers and sand."

If you missed this one, there will be another at 10:30 a.m. Friday when 300 Corriente steers will be led through the streets of Costa Mesa from Fairview Park to the OC Fair. The route is about 3.5 miles and it will last a little more than an hour. A street sweeper will follow the herd to clean up all livestock waste.

[dragonsky]

Thursday, July 26, 2007
Irvine sues agency over housing mandate
City calls requirements 'unfair, unreasonable, unattainable and inequitable.'
By ERIKA CHAVEZ
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

IRVINE - City officials have filed suit in an effort to overturn a state mandate requiring Irvine to add 35,660 housing units in the next seven years.

The mandate, handed down earlier this month by the Southern California Association of Governments, would also require that 21,282 of the new units be deemed "affordable" for moderate, low-income and very low-income households.

Mark Asturias, housing manager for the city of Irvine, said the requirement "burdens Irvine with a mandate that is unfair, unreasonable, unattainable and inequitable."

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Orange County Superior Court, argues that the housing allocations weren't distributed in an equitable manner, as required by state law.

The housing projections are part of the Regional Housing Needs Assessment, a periodic process meant to ensure that areas throughout the state provide their fair share of housing needs as the population grows.

Irvine has 64,500 housing units built over 35 years; an additional 35,660 units—almost 44 percent of the new homes mandated across Orange County by SCAG—would result in a more than 50 percent increase over the next 7 years, Asturias said.

Additionally, he said, while Irvine has remaining open space, most of that is already locked into development agreements and can't be used to fulfill the latest housing requirements.

The city appealed the allocation, but SCAG refused to revise it before adopting a final housing plan on July 12.

While larger cities such as Santa Ana, Anaheim and Huntington Beach received much smaller allocations, city officials believe that Irvine was singled out for its continuing growth and existing commitment to building affordable housing.

SCAG's allocation requirement "has penalized Irvine for its smart growth, strategic planning, community advocacy and longstanding track record of building housing that is accessible to the full range of working families," read a statement released by the city Thursday.

Irvine's housing ordinance requires that 15 percent of all new homes be affordable; under SCAG's projections, about 60 percent of new housing units will have to be affordable.

A spokesman for SCAG said the agency had no comment on the pending litigation.

[SoCal Alan]

Don't live in Irvine, but hope that they are successful in their lawsuit.

[Elruso]

Completely agree with Irvine!
Why not Anaheim and Orange? They are the ones who still has some open space and HUNDREDS OF TRAILER PARKS! They could put more residential towers (like the one that pissed off Disney, lol)... And besides, it is ORANGE county, not Irvine county

[Elruso]

Oh, and what about the Garbage Grove? Shouldnt they start building there too? IMHO, Garden Grove is one of (if not the) ugliest and undeveloped communities in OC...

[Elruso]

Oh, and the building that pissed off Disney:
Built up to the roof already

[JRinSoCal]

^I believe that's a hotel, not residential.

[Elruso]

IDK, maybe that is a hotel. It is right off Katella and Anaheim Blvd, near Disney.

[ocman]

Originally Posted by SoCal Alan

Don't live in Irvine, but hope that they are successful in their lawsuit.

It's a really bizarre mandate that doesn't really make any sense. It's basically forcing cities to overbuild themselves to play catch-up. Price ceilings don't work, but even so, it would be more logical to have the mandate placed on a percentage of FUTURE housing.

[WonderlandPark]

I guess the One Broadway Tower is still not moving forward? But the OC may still get another new tallest:

By SARAH TULLY
The Orange County Register

Anaheim Orange County's tallest and greenest building soon could go up in Anaheim.

Today, the Planning Commission approved 5-0 the Platinum Tower, a 20-story office building planned in the Platinum Triangle, an urban neighborhood underway near Angel Stadium. Commissioners Panky Romero and Cecilia Flores were absent.

The tower is expected to be the largest countywide to be constructed using environmentally friendly practices, called Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification, or LEED, said Steve Sheldon, the representative for Steadfast Investment Properties. The project would include solar panels and other features.

The building would reach 311 feet high – about six feet more than the county's current tallest building. Other buildings are proposed to be taller, including the 37-story One Broadway Plaza in Santa Ana, but they have yet to be constructed.

"This would be history making," Commissioner Joseph Karaki said.

An adjacent property owner brought up concerns about a road expansion that would be needed. But Sheldon said he would try to work out the problem before the City Council considers the building next month.

The tower would go on property south of the stadium owned by Win-Dor, a vinyl window and door manufacturer.

[Echo Park]

Originally Posted by WonderlandPark

Today, the Planning Commission approved 5-0 the Platinum Tower, a 20-story office building planned in the Platinum Triangle, an urban neighborhood underway near Angel Stadium.

So is every tower U/C in Lennar's A-town project? I haven't followed this project since its approval in 2005 so I have no idea whats going on. Are all 11 towers going up or has the number of towers been scaled down? I hope this project is successful so the rest of the parking lot around angels stadium gets developed.

[dragonsky]

Monday, July 30, 2007
Changes help Surf City Nights
New farmers market brings more snacks and doesn't block the sidewalks. Plus, the city is saving money.
By ANNIE BURRIS
The Orange County Register

HUNTINGTON BEACH – Changes are coming for Surf City Nights.

The downtown Business Improvement District selected a new farmers market that began at the street fair last week, saving the BID about $4,500 a week and reducing its costs to less than $2,000 a week.

"The other (farmers market) was exhausting the use of funding, and we were scurrying and always trying to find more funding," said Connie Pedenko, executive director of the BID.

Lee Ostendorf's farmers market comes to Main Street at no charge and with new perks, including more finger foods and an additional barbecue venue.

The vendors' trucks also no longer need to park between the tents and the sidewalk. Foot traffic flows much more smoothly now, Pedenko said.

Unlike the previous market, the new market does not come with entertainment for children, so the BID hired Andre Simonian's WOW! Inflatables to fill the gap.

With the extra city block added July 10 and the new market, Surf City Nights attracted 6,000 people July 17 – 2,000 more than usual.

Verizon was recently signed as a sponsor, covering the event's costs for a month.

The city pays $5,000 a week, and might not fund the event beyond Oct. 31. Pedenko said the BID would adapt.

"It is an indefinite event in everybody's mind," she said. "We'll find ways."

[dragonsky]

Monday, July 30, 2007
Resort issue may fly or die Tuesday
Disney and a home developer have met for more than two weeks to try to reach a compromise.
By SARAH TULLY
The Orange County Register

Anaheim Affordable housing advocates plan Tuesday to pitch red tents at City Hall to bring attention to the need for affordable housing, regardless what the City Council decides to do with an Anaheim Resort plot.

For more than two weeks, Disney and developer SunCal officials have met to come up with a compromise on the use of a plot across from Disney property where SunCal wants to build homes, including affordable apartments. Today, neither side gave an update on the progress of talks on the issue that has dogged the city for more than a year.

At Tuesday's meeting, the council has the same options it had two weeks ago when it delayed a decision: repeal its previous vote to allow housing on the plot, set an election date on a referendum to overturn residential zoning or postpone a decision again.

Councilwoman Lorri Galloway, who supports the housing plan, said she is unsure what the council will do if a compromise is proposed.

More than 60 people spoke at the July 17 meeting. On Tuesday, affordable housing supporters plan to take another approach: hold a "Red Tent Rally" in front of City Hall to demonstrate the long-term need for more housing. Internationally, housing advocates have pitched small red tents as a protest form, said Scott Darrell, executive director of the Kennedy Commission, which lobbies for affordable housing.

"For us, it's a much broader issue. It's not about this site, this particular proposal, this particular developer," Darrell said.

The meeting is set for 5 p.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 200 S. Anaheim Blvd. For more information and to watch the meeting live, go to www.anaheim.net.

[Elruso]

Originally Posted by JRinSoCal

^I believe that's a hotel, not residential.

It is actually a "Vacation Ownership Complex," to be specific

[DowntownCharlieBrown]

While several cities are vying to become the center of Orange County, it appears Santa Ana is marking their territory. The water tower (just off the 5 fwy), which has been wrapped and thus hidden from view for the past few months, has started to become unveiled this week.





While several other cities would like to be known as downtown Orange County, Santa Ana is not waiting for a consensus to determine the winner and have secretly been working on this little surprise.

[Elruso]

Yeah I saw that today, coming from the county offices, but it didnt surprise me, though. If the Orange county's central offices are located in Santa Ana, then S.A. being the O.C.'s downtown seems pretty obvious...

[DowntownCharlieBrown]

I agree, Santa Ana is the obvious choice. However, Costa Mesa, Irvine and Anaheim would like a say in it. But only Irvine and Anaheim have large developments under construction where they are trying to create a "city center".

[Buckeye Native 001]

I'd argue for Old Towne Orange as well, but I've always considered Santa Ana "Downtown Orange County" because its got the infrastructure already in place, is the county seat, and has the most potential out of all the "cities" in Orange County to create a true urban environemnt.

[DowntownCharlieBrown]

[QUOTE=WonderlandPark;2978771]I guess the One Broadway Tower is still not moving forward? But the OC may still get another new tallest:

I'm not sure if and when construction will begin on One Broadway, but they are moving the historic house that is on the site.