Foothills Sentry July 2024

Page 9 Foothills Sentry JULY 2024 7540 E. Chapman Ave. Orange, CA 92869 (714) 639-9792 MEAT&DELI, PRODUCE, BAKERY, FRESH FISH, GIFT BASKETS, WINE MON-SAT: 8am - 9pmSUN: 8am - 8pm www.Pac i�i cRanchMarket.com $ OFF Excluding alcoholic beverages and tobacco products. With coupon only. May not be combined with any other offer or discount. Limit one coupon per customer. Valid only at P aci�ic Ranch Market. When You Spend $25 or More * EXPIRES: 7 / 31 /2 4 5 OC’s Premier ProduceMarket The site of the planned Orange Heights development was engulfed in flames during the 2017 Canyon II fire. American Legion Post 132 welcomed the Nation of Patriots Flag Tour, June 6, wherein motorcyclists transport the American flag through all 50 states. The ride raises money to support veterans. The flag arrived in Orange from El Cajon, and was dispatched to its next stop in Cornell, California, the next day by riders from Post 132. The Orange stop netted about $750 that will benefit veterans in California. Seen here, in front, is Mark Coleman, who ferried the flag to Orange; rear, from left, Scott Schaeffer, Nation of Patriots regional com- mander for Southern California; Representative Lou Correa (D-46th); Congresswoman Young Kim (R-40th) and Orange Mayor Dan Slater. Homes coming to fire zone By Tina Richards As The Irvine Company pre- pares to break ground for a 1,180-unit housing project in East Orange, an army of residents is urging the builder and the city to complete an updated Environ- mental Impact Report before un- leashing the bulldozers. The group, No Orange Heights, has collected 15,496 signatures on a petition asking for a new EIR. Two dozen residents ap- peared at the May 28 Orange City Council meeting to command an hour’s worth of public comments on the topic. The Irvine Company has en- titlements to build on the acre- age at Jamboree and Santiago Canyon Road that were granted in 2005. The original project, called Santiago Hills II, was for 1,746 units on 496 acres. An EIR was produced and certified by the city. That project languished until 2016, when The Irvine Company came back with revised plans for 1,180 homes on 396 acres. No EIR was done at that time, as the 2005 document retained author- ity. That EIR, however, is now al- most 20 years old. Proponents of a new environmental study note that a lot has changed since then. Vehicle traffic has increased, and the state has changed its assess- ment criteria for determining those impacts. Housing develop- ments to the north and south have squeezed native wildlife into smaller wild spaces and natural habitats. The site of the develop- ment currently connects Irvine and Peters Canyon Regional Parks and creates a corridor for local wildlife to move about. Most significant, however, is fire danger. The land where 1,180 houses will be built burned to cin- ders in the 2017 Canyon Fire 2. The blaze jumped the toll road, burned parts of Santiago Oaks Park, Irvine Park and decimated Peters Canyon. It burned to the edges of Santiago Hills and Cow- an Heights. A number of homes in Cowan Heights were damaged, but it could have been worse. A firefighter on the scene reported that the community was spared because the wind changed. With wildfires ravaging the State of California in recent years, Attorney General Rob Bonta has discouraged future developments in high-risk areas. In 2022, he released a series of guidelines designed to mitigate threats, stating: “ Residential de- velopments in the wildland-urban interface and other wildfire- prone areas can significantly in- crease the risks of wildfires and the related risk to public safety. Introducing more people via ad- ditional development increases the likelihood of fire ignition. Building housing in the wildland- urban interface puts more people in harm’s way and may hinder evacuation routes and emergency access. "CEQA requires that state and local agencies disclose and evaluate the significant environ- mental impacts of locating devel- opments in areas susceptible to hazardous conditions – such as wildfire – and adopt all feasible mitigation measures to reduce or eliminate those impacts. "The Attorney General’s guid- ance is based on the California Department of Justice’s experi- ence reviewing and litigating planned development projects in wildfire-prone areas.” The Orange Woman’s Club named its 2024-25 officers on June 17: from left, front row: Pat Hamilton, Linda Hicks, Rebecca Martinez, President Carol Allen, Kathleen Stevens, Carol Calderwood, Diana Correa; back row, from left: Diana Diaz, Susan Moore, Dorinda von Tersch, Susie Huber, Kathy Wilhelm and Marcie Scott. Not pictured, Terrie Richardson and Kathryn Host. Graduates awarded music grants The Orange County Friends of Music and the Orange Commu- nity Master Chorale awarded mu- sic grants ranging from $500 to $1,000 to six graduating seniors from local high schools. Grants were given to Mia Fuentes and Elmer Wences, Or- ange High; Isabela Reynoso, El Modena; Anna Scott, Orange Lu- theran; and Vincent Logan, Can- yon High. Edith Arinaga of Or- ange High received the Beverly Parr Memorial Award. Sophia Zonni, a graduate of Orange Lutheran, completed her first year at Chapman Univer- sity, and received a second music grant. These awards require a nomi- nation by the students’ respective vocal music directors, an aca- demic review, and acceptance at a school of higher learning. The Chorale has been providing the grants since 2000 to further its mission to share music with all. The awards will be presented by Orange Mayor Dan Slater at the city's 3rd of July Celebration. Photo by James Gomez