Irvine Company To Construct 4,450 New Homes In Outer Laguna Canyon
The Irvine Company and the City of Irvine are moving forward with plans to construct 4,450 dwelling units on the outer edge of Laguna Canyon. Laguna Canyon Road is currently being widened to 6 lanes to accommodate the new traffic from this development and the overburdened Irvine Spectrum office, commercial and industrial area.
The future development will actually contain two new areas, Hidden Canyon, which will be located at the edge of the northwest corner of Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, and the boundaries of the second development area, tentatively called Laguna Crossing. This second development will include Laguna Canyon Road, the 405 Freeway, Irvine Center Drive, Bake Parkway and future Lake Forest Drive. The existing Verizon Amphitheater will likely be demolished, but the status of this site is still unclear. Together both new developments will contain 4,450 multi-family and single family dwelling units.
We have four main concerns regarding this future residential development. They are as follows:
Irvine Wildlife Corridor
The Irvine Wildlife Corridor will be negatively impacted by the construction of two major arterial roads, Lake Forest Drive and Bake Parkway. Both will disrupt habitat and the movement of wildlife in the area. The Wildlife Corridor is vital to the Laguna Greenbelt because it will provide habitat for animal populations as they migrate between the two large open space preserves - the Cleveland National Forest and the Laguna Greenbelt.
San Diego Creek
Grading and construction along both sides of San Diego Creek could have a negative effect on wildlife and the fragile habitat of this rich creek environment.
Lake Forest Drive & Laguna Canyon Road Traffic
How much will traffic be adversely affedted from this new 4,450 dwelling unit development, along with spillover traffic from nearby Irvine Spectrum development, and from commuters who use the Laguna Canyon Road and Lake Forest Parkway as diversion around the often congested and infamous El Toro ”Y”?
Grading
How will the construction affect the wildlife and visual character of the wonderful canyon environment? What will become of the wildlife that used the small canyon where the future Lake Forest Parkway will occupy? With development completely surrounding this area, where will the wildlife go?
Photo Location:
Laguna Lakes, Jim Dilley Preserve.
Photo Credit: Jerry Burchfield
The Laguna Greenbelt Fact:
The 22, 000-acre Laguna Greenbelt is the second largest coastal wilderness & open space area in Southern California. Only the Santa Monica Mountains National Refuge is larger.
