Mammoth La Habra Housing Development Approved : Project: The 381-acre proposal with 700 homes, a community park and an 18-hole golf course gains unanimous City Council support, despite environmental protests.

LA HABRA —  In what will be the largest development here in 20 years, a 381-acre project with 700 homes, a community park and an 18-hole golf course was unanimously approved by the City Council on Monday night.

Known as La Habra Hills, the project will occupy part of the West Coyote Hills area owned by Pacific Coast Homes, a branch of Chevron USA. The property is on the southernmost border of the city, south of Imperial Highway between Beach Boulevard and Euclid Street.

The council approved the project 3 to 0, with Councilman Juan M. Garcia abstaining because he works for a Chevron subsidiary and Councilman John C. Holmberg abstaining because he lives within 300 feet of the project site.

The proposal drew criticism from environmentalists after the project’s impact report stated that about 300 acres of coastal sage scrub will disappear, eliminating the site as a possible habitat for the California gnatcatcher. The completed project will also interfere with coyote migrating routes, according to the report.

However, Councilman William D. Mahoney said the project will be “an absolute plus” for the community.

“As far as I’m concerned, this gnatcatcher thing is a can of worms,” he said. “My conclusion is that we don’t have a problem on these hills in regards to the gnatcatcher or coastal sage scrub.”

At a public hearing two weeks ago, a representative of the Audubon Society said the land, which is the city’s last open space, is home in some areas to coastal sage scrub, coyotes, coastal cactus wrens and the gnatcatchers. Both the wren and the gnatcatcher have been proposed for the federal list of endangered species.

A field survey of the project site by a biologist hired by Chevron determined that most of the land is “relatively inconducive to wildlife habitat” because of “oil extraction activities.”

Supporters noted that Chevron USA donated about one-fifth of 535 acres it owns of West Coyote Hills in Fullerton to the Natural Community Conservation Program, which brings private developers together with state and local governments to address coastal sage scrub conservation on a regional level.

La Habra Hills would be made up of 600 detached single-family homes and about 100 multiple-family units in four hillside residential “villages,” encompassing a 30-acre community park and a 145-acre golf course and clubhouse.

The park, proposed for a site east of Idaho Street and south of the existing Country Hills neighborhood, is planned as an urban forest with picnic facilities.

Because part of the project overlaps boundaries with neighboring Fullerton, a tri-party agreement is under negotiation with that city to adjust for the development. If no agreement is reached, La Habra Hills will be confined within La Habra’s boundaries, and densities will increase slightly.

The development will be built over the next five to eight years. The first phase will consist of almost 160 homes and the community park. The next phase, which involves the tri-party agreement, will complete the residential development and the golf course.

The development is expected to bring in $300,000 in annual revenue to La Habra. The city will also receive an additional fire station, a water reservoir and two water wells. If water from the wells is determined to be potable, all well water will be owned by the city for sale and distribution.