canyon crest

These 367 acres are on the ridges and hills north of Carbon Canyon Road, spanning from Olinda Village eastward to the San Bernardino/Orange County line within the City of Brea’s jurisdiction.

Quick Facts

• This hill top property can be seen from most of Orange County and is easily identified because of the two white water reservoirs atop it.
• A 165 housing project on 367 acres was under consideration and environmental review by the City of Brea.
• On a vote of 3-2 the project was approved by the Brea Planning Commission in June 2008 and was immediately appealed to the Brea City Council by a concerned resident.
• The November 2008 Freeway Complex Fire burned the site down and stalled consideration.
• The original owner (The Shopoff Group) was foreclosed on in August 2009 and the new owner (Old Standard Insurance of Idaho) is in bankruptcy but nevertheless it plans to submit a revised project.

• The City of Brea has determined that further environmental review is necessary post Freeway Complex Fire.
• This property was ranked highly and was therefore in contention for funds from Orange County’s Renewed Measure M's Environmental Mitigation Program, where funds are spent to save natural lands as mitigation for freeway project impacts. The landowner declared no interest in selling and the property was therefore dropped from contention for this round of funding.
• The new owner has decided to submit a revised project.

• Includes Rare Plant Communities
  The property contains extensive oak and walnut woodlands. As proposed, the old project would require removal of 1,899 oak and walnut trees.
  
  
• Mountain Lion Movement Corridor
  Dr. Paul Beier’s mountain lion study documented this project site as a corridor that mountain lions use to move between the Carbon Canyon area and Tonner Canyon.
  
  
• Neighbor to Protected Parkland
  As an immediate neighbor to the protected land of Chino Hills State Park, the property has heightened resource value as a buffer to the Park’s core habitat area.

• Carbon Canyon Specific Plan’s Overly Aggressive Vision
  The Specific Plan that was approved by Brea in the mid-1980s called for the building of about 2,200 houses in the steep Carbon Canyon area, which is still accessed by a single two lane rural road.
  
  
• Specific Plan Downsized
  As understanding increased regarding the challenges of the steep, unstable slopes, and the constraints of the already overburdened two lane road in Carbon Canyon, the City of Brea began seeing the area through different eyes.
  
  Various public outreach processes (Brea Project, Downtown Charrette, and Sphere of Influence Planning) also revealed the residents of Brea value their hillside backdrops and want the City to work to protect them. When a proposed road in Soquel Canyon was removed from the Carbon Canyon Specific Plan, Brea downsized the Specific Plan to about 1,600 houses in 2001.
  
  
• New General Plan Revokes Old Specific Plan
  The public’s increased interest in hillside preservation informed the City’s decision to apply even more rigid constraints in the development of the canyon.
  
  The Specific Plan was eventually revoked in 2006 and stricter rules are now in place that limit development due to seismicity (earthquakes), topography (steep slopes), geology (landslides), and aesthetic and biological resources.
  
  
• The Canyon Crest Exception
  The Shopoff Group (Bill Shopoff) bought various “distressed” properties in Southern California in the 1990s, including the Canyon Crest property. He initiated a project application proposing various levels of development on various parcels.
  
  Shopoff sued Brea when the City tried to apply new rules governing Carbon Canyon development. Shopoff successfully argued that the project application was complete before the new rules took affect. The settlement agreement allows this one project to proceed under the old rules regulating grading and density (houses/acre), etc.
  
  Eventually Shopoff settled on 165 houses on 367 acres and an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was written. After eight years of stops and starts, the project moved to the Brea Planning Commission in 2008 where it passed on a 3-2 vote. Concerned residents immediately appealed the decision to the Brea City Council.
  
  The Brea City Council was listening to testimony during the fall of 2008 when the Freeway Complex Fire erupted on November 15, 2008. Project opponents demanded a supplemental EIR since the fire created “changed circumstances” which, under the CEQA, requires further analysis. The City refused to do further analysis since, by then, the developer owed the City $130,000 in past due fees.
  
  The Shopoff Group was foreclosed on by the note holder, Old Standard Insurance Company in August 2009. Idaho-based Old Standard now owns the land and is itself in bankruptcy.
  
  
• Try Again
  Old Standard paid the past due fees Shopoff owed to keep the project application alive and have hired California land use attorneys and planners to continue processing the project. Environmental documents are being prepared
  

The Site Map for the Canyon Crest Project (85 KB - PDF)