Banning Ranch: Sunset Ridge EIR and Public Comments

The draft EIR for Sunset Ridge Park, which is located on the outermost section of Banning Ranch, is now available. This park will be the first development of Banning Ranch and with it comes loss of open space, increased traffic to/from the park, and light and noise pollution just to name a few.

The public has until Dec 11, 2009 to enter their comments.

The City of Newport Beach has completed the preparation of a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the proposed Sunset Ridge Park Project to be located at the northwest corner of Superior Avenue and West Coast Highway. The DEIR has been prepared to examine potential environmental impacts generated by the proposed project in relation to the following Environmental Analysis Checklist categories: Land Use and Planning, Traffic and Circulation, Aesthetics, Air Quality, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Geology and Soils, Global Climate Change, Hazards and Hazardous Materials, Hydrology and Water Quality, Population, Noise, Public Services and Utilities, and Service Systems, Mineral Resources, and Recreation.
Download complete notice: Notice of Availability (NOA) of the DEIR

The DEIR is available on the City's website http://www.newportbeachca.gov/index.aspx?page=942 located under Sunset Ridge Park. Comments on the adequacy of the DEIR will be accepted by the City between October 27, 2009 and December 11, 2009.

Comments on the DEIR should be sent to the attention of Janet Johnson Brown, Associate Planner, Newport Beach Planning Department, 3300 Newport Boulevard, Newport Beach, CA 92658-8915.

For more information, please contact the Planning Department at (949) 644-3200.

1,375 homes and a hotel. Where's the water going to come from?

For all the big talk about how easy a slam dunk it is going to be to build 1,375 homes and a 70 room hotel on Banning Ranch, the smooth talking developers have neglected to discuss one crucial detail ---- where is the water going to come from? California is in its fourth year of drought, farmers in the Central Valley are being cut off from water supplies that has resulted in a $703 million dollar loss in agriculture gross revenue, and 21,000 statewide jobs have been lost due to the drought, yet AERA, Brooks Street, and Cherokee seem to think a water shortage doesn't apply to their project.

The drought is expected to continue with reservoir storage levels far below standards and the runoff level expected to be dangerously deficient this year. But that is not stopping AERA Energy and Brook Street Development team from adding more stress to our region's water crisis.

Contact the Newport Beach City Council and urge them to VOTE NO on the proposed Banning Ranch development.

Banning Ranch Death Road

The picture here details where the roads and tract homes will be constructed. The road, highlighted in red, is now being called "The Banning Ranch Death Road." This road will only fragment the already small ecosystem that thrives on Banning Ranch, devastate the wildlife, and add up to 45, 000 average daily trips to our already clogged streets. Don't let the smooth talking developers tell you this project is good for the area--- it's not!!! The proposed development on the Banning Ranch property is the most ill-conceived project that Orange County has ever seen. Contact the Newport Beach City Council and advocate that this project be denied.

Note that proposed project calls for another stop light to be installed on PCH. So the smooth talking developers want to increase traffic on PCH then add another red light.

This project must be stopped.