News and Articles
All Quiet on the West Coyote Hills?
By Kathleen Shanfield and the Friends of CH
Jul 18, 2007, 20:53

All Quiet on the West Coyote Hills? 

By Kathleen Shanfield and the Friends of Coyote Hills

Although it appears to have been quiet on the West Coyote Hills front, the issue of saving West Coyote Hills from development remains one of the most important unresolved issues for our community. Things will be heating up again this fall as the City of Fullerton plans to release the third revision of Chevron-Pacific Coast Homes’ 760-home development plan Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Residents and concerned individuals need to let the City know how the development of West Coyote Hills will negatively impact the character and quality of life in this community.

Chevron-Pacific Coast Homes released their Draft Environmental Impact Reports (DEIR) in 2003 and their revision in 2006. The Friends of Coyote Hills, with generous support from the community, were able to employ the services of a leading environmental law firm to review and comment on these two DEIRs. Separately, private citizens and public agencies also provided comments on the DEIRs. The overwhelming consensus was that Chevron-Pacific Coast Homes failed to adequately address many important issues, such as traffic, water usage, geological stability, soil contamination and clean-up, air quality, and habitat endangerment for wildlife, as well as density concerns. 

The City of Fullerton is working with Chevron-Pacific Coast Homes to compile and respond to the public comments.  Another public comment period will be required before the issue goes to the Planning Commission, then to the City Council for a decision regarding the project.  The City recently estimated that the earliest hearings could occur would be late fall/winter.  Some of the sections of the DEIR will be revised and re-circulated for a 45 day review period.  Another round of comments and responses on the revised EIR will follow before hearings can be scheduled. 

With the City and Chevron-Pacific Coast Homes busy on the DEIR, the Friends of Coyote Hills has been focused on exploring acquisition funding options for West Coyote Hills.  Typically, acquisition funding for a large parcel of land such as West Coyote Hills comes from a variety of sources. Many funding sources have recently become available with the passage of Park Bond Proposition 84, and the County’s Measure M Renewal, with $240 million of environmental monies going out for mitigation of new freeways. Since West Coyote Hills is the LAST PIECE of open space available in North Orange County, much interest has been expressed regarding the availability of this property. The Friends have met with our city lobbyist to encourage tapping into these funding sources while the money is there. 

The Friends of Coyote Hills have long advocated for the preservation of all 510 acres of West Coyote Hills as a unique nature park in park-poor North Orange County. West Coyote Hills is this region’s last remaining natural open space, so it represents the last opportunity to address this problem in a meaningful way. Other people are waking up to this fact too. County Supervisor Norby has publicly stated that the North part of the County is in need of more park space and would develop a funding source. Both the strategic planning sessions for Harbors, Beaches and Parks and the Coyote Creek Watershed Study expressed a need for open space and West Coyote Hills was the obvious choice. The Friends of Coyote Hills have met with, and provided tours of the property from the Nora Kuttner Trail,( which allows a view into the fenced off property), to the Trust for Public Lands, the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy, Sierra Club, and the Measure M task force for mitigation. All of these sources are very excited about acquiring this large and unspoiled site for a park in North Orange County.  The efforts of the Friends to put West Coyote Hills “on the map” and in the minds of funding agencies and open space advocates has really paid off as agencies are calling us to find out more about how to acquire and preserve this property. 

It seems to boil down to a matter of money. How much will Chevron-Pacific Coast Homes accept for selling the West Coyote Hills property? With the current soft housing market, the Friends of Coyote Hills believe that they may be more open to negotiations.  It is important to note that the property is currently zoned oil and gas, not residential; therefore the land has not been “entitled”, making the price much lower than if the zoning were changed to allow the housing project to develop. 

There’s no need to wait for the next release of the DEIR to let the City know of your support for saving West Coyote Hills from development. Your voice matters. The City is recording the number and content of phone calls regarding this issue.  Call (714) 738-6311 to voice your concerns about developing this last piece of open space for whatever reason:  increased traffic and density, air quality, habitat endangerment, saving this 510 acres as open space for everyone to enjoy as an educational and recreational resource.  You can also email the city council (Council@ci.fullerton.ca.us ), and express your opinions about saving all of this property for future generations to enjoy. 

Stay informed and get involved! Keep abreast of upcoming events and hearings through the Friends of Coyote Hills’ website (www.coyotehills.org), blog (http://SaveCoyoteHills.blogspot.com), and the Fullerton Observer. Contact the Friends of Coyote Hills to ask how you can get involved. Most importantly, attend the hearings this fall to show your support for saving all of West Coyote Hills. Don’t wait until it is too late to voice your concerns and opinions, and to help save it all.