Brea 265 Development Adjacent to Carbon Canyon In The Works

Perhaps you've seen in recent weeks and months the removal of oil well rigs on both sides of Lambert Road just west of Valencia Avenue a little west of Carbon Canyon. 

Aera Energy, LLC, a subsidiary of Shell, which has been drilling and extracting crude oil in the Olinda field for over a century, is making plans to redevelop about 265 acres (hence the name) of its land, on both sides of Lambert and both sides of Valencia, for a housing project that calls for somewhere between 1,100 and 1,165 units.

These include about 300 low-density, 275 medium-density, and 590 high-density dwellings, though the numbers on the same page in a chart and in the text are off by 65 total units.  There are 18 acres designated for parks and passive recreational uses and about 56 acres of open space.  For road, another 26 acres are contemplated.

An aerial map showing the location of the proposed 1,100-1,165 units Brea 265 project slated for land owned by Aera Energy, LLC (a subsidiary of Shell) on oil lands just west of Carbon Canyon.

Of the nearly 200 wells drilled on the project site, 110 of them are still producing, but only about 500 barrels of crude a day are being extracted.  All of the activity will end once the entitlements are in place for development, though there are elements of the plan that call for some recognition of the historical use of the land for oil development.

Thanks to a Carbon Canyon resident for sending info on this and who rightly expresses concern for traffic impacts on Carbon Canyon Road.  There are two main entrances to the project site--one on Valencia Avenue going both directions between Birch/Rose on the south and Carbon Canyon/Lambert on the north and the other on both sides of Lambert, west of Valencia.  A secondary entrance will be just a bit west of that.

Well, over 1,000 units means a few thousand cars that will be entering and exiting roads that already have some heavy usage during the morning and afternoon/evening commutes.  With additional traffic signals on Valencia and Lambert, it is to be expected that there will be significant impacts to volume and flow.  Obviously, traffic studies, including the above-mentioned Canyon resident's request to include previous studies of Carbon Canyon Road, will indicate what those impacts will be.

For more details on the Brea 265 project, here is the brochure.