Anaheim Ca Annexations

A powerful local planning agency cleared the way Wednesday for Anaheim to annex Gypsum Canyon for a housing development, and county officials signaled afterward that they may soon drop their own efforts to acquire the property. Supervisors and other officials said the board will almost certainly abandon a proposed Gypsum Canyon landfill when it takes the issue up in December.

The City Council on Tuesday quietly passed the final motion that will make the city's annexation of Gypsum Canyon official. Passed unanimously by a voice vote, the resolution formally set the terms of the 2,340-acre annexation, which city officials and the Irvine Co.--the canyon's owners--hope will eventually be the site of an 8,000-home development.

A 1-acre rectangular plot in an unincorporated part of the county near the city limits is one step closer to becoming part of the city, following the City Council's approval of the annexation this week. The annexation still needs to be approved by the county and the Local Agency Formation Commission. The property on Orange Avenue just west of Brookhurst Street now receives city utility services.

During a brief meeting Friday morning, the City Council formally completed its long-awaited and hard-won annexation of Gypsum Canyon, clearing the way for a huge, 8,000-home residential community. Just three council members were present, Mayor Fred Hunter, William D. Ehrle and Bob D. Simpson. They unanimously approved the annexation during the two-minute session. The vote came two days after a local planning organization gave its blessing to the annexation.

A majority of Orange County supervisors will propose next week that the county consider legal action to acquire the controversial Gypsum Canyon jail site if negotiations with the Irvine Co. do not produce a breakthrough within 60 days. In a letter circulated to their colleagues Thursday, Supervisors Harriett M. Wieder and Thomas F. Riley urged negotiations with the company, which owns 2,500 acres in the canyon near Anaheim.

The City Council declared in a resolution Tuesday that a proposed tax increase for the construction of a new county jail in Gypsum Canyon is "regressive, premature and an unnecessary action." The resolution, approved by unanimous vote of the council, calls for an examination of alternatives to a tax increase and questions how much money would really be raised by Measure J, the proposed half-cent sales tax hike that will be put before the voters next month.

The County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday rejected a plan that could have bottled up Anaheim's efforts to annex Gypsum Canyon, where the county hopes to build a jail. The decision, which came on a rare tie vote, removes one potential obstacle in the way of Anaheim's effort to annex the property and clear it for a huge Irvine Co. housing development, an 8,000-unit project known as Mountain Park.

The City Council on Tuesday quietly passed the final motion that will make the city's annexation of Gypsum Canyon official. Passed unanimously by a voice vote, the resolution formally set the terms of the 2,340-acre annexation, which city officials and the Irvine Co.--the canyon's owners--hope will eventually be the site of an 8,000-home development.

The name Gypsum Canyon will not appear anywhere on the ballot Tuesday, when voters decide whether to raise the county's sales tax by half a cent for construction of regional justice facilities. But the rugged canyon between Anaheim Hills and the Riverside County border long has been the battleground in a protracted debate over where to build a new jail.

The Irvine Co. on Wednesday disclosed its preliminary plan to turn Gypsum Canyon into a 10,500-unit housing development that will include a shopping mall, schools and several parks. The county wants to build a jail and possibly a landfill in the remote canyon area east of Anaheim Hills. But Irvine Co. officials say the land-use conflict will not prevent them from proceeding with plans for the housing project that could add about 25,000 residents to Anaheim. "The Irvine Co.

A powerful local planning agency cleared the way Wednesday for Anaheim to annex Gypsum Canyon for a housing development, and county officials signaled afterward that they may soon drop their own efforts to acquire the property. Supervisors and other officials said the board will almost certainly abandon a proposed Gypsum Canyon landfill when it takes the issue up in December.

On the heels of Orange County supervisors' vote to abandon plans for a Gypsum Canyon jail, the Anaheim City Council indicated Tuesday night that it will approve an agreement with the Irvine Co. that would transform the canyon into the 8,000-home Mountain Park development. The council is scheduled to vote on the agreement in two weeks, but comments of council members Tuesday indicated that a majority already favors the project. Still, possible hurdles remain before development can begin.

Closing yet another door on the county's plans to build a jail in Gypsum Canyon, the City Council has opened its arms to a massive canyon development plan that calls for construction of nearly 8,000 homes. The council's approval of the environmental study of the Irvine Co.'s 3,179-acre Mountain Park came late Tuesday over the objections of environmentalists who continued the call for the land to be maintained as wildlife habitat.

On a joyous May evening in Mayor Fred Hunter's downtown law office, residents of the city's upscale Anaheim Hills area, developers, civic leaders and a majority of the City Council gathered for a toast. The party was a celebration of the stunning defeat of a tax proposal to finance construction of a county jail in Anaheim's back yard, and it effectively erased all doubt as to how the council is expected to vote Tuesday on a plan to cover Gypsum Canyon with 8,000 homes.

A week after plans to build a county jail in Gypsum Canyon were dealt a major setback, city officials on Monday turned their attention to another idea for the canyon: development of a 7,966-home community. The Irvine Co. presented its plans for the proposed Mountain Park community to the city Planning Commission, which will make its recommendation to the City Council.

The name Gypsum Canyon will not appear anywhere on the ballot Tuesday, when voters decide whether to raise the county's sales tax by half a cent for construction of regional justice facilities. But the rugged canyon between Anaheim Hills and the Riverside County border long has been the battleground in a protracted debate over where to build a new jail.

Closing yet another door on the county's plans to build a jail in Gypsum Canyon, the City Council has opened its arms to a massive canyon development plan that calls for construction of nearly 8,000 homes. The council's approval of the environmental study of the Irvine Co.'s 3,179-acre Mountain Park came late Tuesday over the objections of environmentalists who continued the call for the land to be maintained as wildlife habitat.

During a brief meeting Friday morning, the City Council formally completed its long-awaited and hard-won annexation of Gypsum Canyon, clearing the way for a huge, 8,000-home residential community. Just three council members were present, Mayor Fred Hunter, William D. Ehrle and Bob D. Simpson. They unanimously approved the annexation during the two-minute session. The vote came two days after a local planning organization gave its blessing to the annexation.

The City Council declared in a resolution Tuesday that a proposed tax increase for the construction of a new county jail in Gypsum Canyon is "regressive, premature and an unnecessary action." The resolution, approved by unanimous vote of the council, calls for an examination of alternatives to a tax increase and questions how much money would really be raised by Measure J, the proposed half-cent sales tax hike that will be put before the voters next month.

The County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday rejected a plan that could have bottled up Anaheim's efforts to annex Gypsum Canyon, where the county hopes to build a jail. The decision, which came on a rare tie vote, removes one potential obstacle in the way of Anaheim's effort to annex the property and clear it for a huge Irvine Co. housing development, an 8,000-unit project known as Mountain Park.