10 Year Freeway Complex Fire Commemoration Event This Weekend

Marking the ten-year anniversary of the Freeway Complex Fire, which roared through much of Carbon Canyon and nearby areas in November 2008 and particularly timely given the massive wildfires that have burned throughout the state this month, Hills for Everyone, the Carbon Canyon Fire Safe Council and the Chino Hills State Park Interpretive Association are sponsoring a commemoration event of the fire this weekend.

Held Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Chino Hills State Park Discovery Center at 4500 Carbon Canyon Road in Brea, the free event includes exhibits of photos, videos, memorabilia, posters and other materials documenting and discussing the fire.  Fire fighting vehicles will be displayed by the Chino Valley and Brea-Fullerton fire departments.

On Saturday from 1-2 p.m., there will be a special presentation by Nature of Wildworks, which will bring native wildlife to vividly show first-hand the impacts the fire, which burned more than 30,000 acres (including 95% of the state park) in four counties and destroyed over 280 houses, had on wildlife.

Sadly, devastating wildfires are becoming a normal feature of life in California as climate change, rapid population growth, and expansion of housing in wildland areas continue.  Carbon Canyon is a microcosm of the risks the interplay of these three facets pose, especially as a new 107-unit project, Hidden Oaks, is expected to be brought before the City of Chino Hills in 2019.  This event will bring needed attention to what wildfires mean, not just in looking back, but in seeing forward.

Carbon Canyon, Wind and Wildfire Risk

In the wake of October's devastating wild fires in northern California, the Los Angeles Times from last Friday the 24th had this lead headline on its front page: "Fire policies sidestep key factor: wind."

Bettina Boxall's article goes on to discuss a realization made by University of Washington atmospheric scientist Cliff Mass's realization after studying a pair of high-resolution weather models on 8 October when the conflagration broke out: "Oh my God, look at he winds?  What if people were paying attention to this? What could they have done?"

Boxall continued:

As California puts more people and houses on one of the planet's most flammable landscapoes and the grim list of deadly wildfires grows longer, some experts say it's time to take stronger steps.  Among them: Ban development in wind corridors where wild lands repeatedly burn . . .

As Alexandra Syphard, a research scientist with Conservation Biology Institute notes:

In Southern California, every single year the conditions are there for a severe wildfire.  You have Santa Ana wind conditions every year.  You have summer drought every year, high temperatures.

Alex Hall, an atmospheric sciences profesor at UCLA, added:

There are certain corridors where the winds tend to travel.  We also have the ability to predict event by event where the winds are going to be the strongest. 

But with wind mapping and forecasting not shown in the wildfire policies of the State of California, the problem becomes, as Syphard expressed it:

I often hear people say that if we construct our buildings correctly and put enough defensible space around it, then we don't need to worry about where you put the houses.  But they don't necessarily fireproof your house.  You can see that by some of the houses that burned in recent years.

Despite the passage of law five years ago that requires local jurisdictions to include wildfire risk when updating general plans and approving housing projects, Boxall wrote, "there appears little inclination to place especially fire-prone areas off limits to development."

What then followed is a quote from Mitch Glaser, assistant administrator for the regional planning office in Los Angeles County: "we have to consider property rights."  He went to say that, while changes in the layout and size of housing projects are made, no denial of an application was made because of the risk of fire.

Boxall continued: "The building continues even in areas where it is virtually guaranteed that a wind-whipped fire will roar through sooner or later."  She also noted that in France there are new regulations that ban development in hazardous fire zones in the southern part of the country.  A natural resources advisor with the University of California cooperative extension system told Boxall, "it's not terribly popular.  But they do have the ability to make that happen."

This takes the matter then to local jurisdictions and land-use planning.  Richard Halsey, director of the California Chaparral Institute, commented:

Local municipalities are so concerned about their tax base and private property rights and making money that they're not addressing the real risks.

He recommends barring development in high-risk locations or, if it is done, then requiring residents to sign waivers that they forego fire protection, though he followed by stating "I don't know if politically that's ever going to happen."

The article also addressed above-ground power lines and the addition of weather observation stations on poles or requiring that lines be routed underground (which is a significant expense and, in some cases, difficult with terrain).  Shutting off power for public safety reasons was also discussed.

Notably, what San Diego Gas and Electric has found in its monitoring of wind in a county that has been heavily affected by wildfires in recent years is that "it turns out the county's strongest winds don't blow through passes or canyons, as previous thought . . . [and there is] remarkable variability in wind strength across relatively short distances."

In 2014, a new program with that utility, the U.S. Forest Service and UCLA was launched and the Santa Ana Wildfire Threat Index is intended to rank threats based on weather and moisture in vegetation.  At the end of October, "one of the strongest Santa Ana events in years hit Southern California" and the ranking was high, just below the worse of extreme.

For Carbon Canyon, this article has great relevance.  While District 12 of CalTrans on the Orange County side of the canyon put up signs several years ago noting an extreme fire hazard, this designation was not made for the San Bernardino County side by District 8.  A wildfire, however, won't heed the sign difference and stop burning at the county line.

Moreover, while San Diego's experience is that the strongest winds may not be in canyons and passes, that in no way suggest that these areas don't funnel high winds and pose great risks.  They certainly do, as most recently was demonstrated in another pair of destructive Santa Ana Canyon fires in September and October and as the history of wildfires has shown in Carbon Canyon (1929, 1958, 1978, 1990 and 2008 being just the worst of many such conflagrations.)

A United States Geological Survey video "Living with Wildfire," which was the subject of a post here a few years ago, warns of high winds at upper elevations as well as gullies and other natural features serving as funnels for winds up from canyons to those plateaus and ridges on adjacent hills.

Private property rights, property tax revenues and other factors will continue to influence decision-making at the local level, but these will be dwarfed by the financial and human cost of catastrophic wildfires, the intensity and frequency of which are growing.

Our local officials in city and county government and in fire-fighting will continue to face these issues and articles like this as well as the USGS video, in addition to mounting studies of wildfire conditions and causes, will, hopefully, bring more needed attention to a growing problem.

After all, most of the remaining undeveloped land in our region are in our canyons and hills—precisely those areas most in danger of extreme wildfire risk.  The Hillcrest project of 76 units is slowly progressing on the north side of Carbon Canyon just east of Sleepy Hollow and the subdivision is surrounded by wildfire-prone areas with many homes at the ridge top and plateaus where winds are strong, carrying embers well over the defensible spaces put into the project.

Across Carbon Canyon Road, directly south of Hillcrest, the proposed Hidden Oaks, of over 100 units, will soon be heard by the city's planning commission and council.  Again, the project is sited on hillsides, plateaus and ridges with steep topography to Soquel Canyon on the south and Chino Hills State Park (98% of which burned in 2008) beyond that.  Many home sites are, once more, in higher elevation with strong winds.

It is likely that city staff will cite private property rights, future revenue, and improvements in planning for fire as reasons for approving the project, even as our knowledge of the issues with the risk of wildfire grows.  Unfortunately, prospective buyers will not be made aware of that risk and will be lulled into a sense of false security when they move into these new subdivisions.

Hillcrest Model Grand Opening in Carbon Canyon on Saturday

Hillcrest, a gated community of 76 houses spanning from about 3,500 to over 5,000 square feet, located north of Carbon Canyon Road at Canyon Hills Road just east of Sleepy Hollow, has its model grand opening this Saturday.

The property, which was a Jewish camp from 1928 to 1958 and then a series of resorts for some years after, including the strange, short-lived Ski Villa, which had a plastic needle-covered ski slope, was given a negative declaration in the mid-1980s, exempting it from environmental impact reports and basically allowing development in lieu of blight.

Conditions relative to traffic, water, diminishing habitat and fire risk have changed a great deal since then, but the project was not subject to any substantive review.  Now, as our region is mired in a historic drought, as we continue to lose open land to development, as climate change brings bigger and more damaging fires, and as traffic worsens on Carbon Canyon Road, as anyone who uses it can attest even within the last few months . . . here are 76 more homes.

No doubt, the models are beautiful, the views stunning, and the development will sell quick as buyers seek executive homes in a tight and pricey market.

Undoubtedly, the glossy brochures, well-rehearsed sales pitches, and other marketing and public relations endeavors will look past the fire threat, water scarcity, traffic issues and so on and buyers will find out sooner or later what all of these mean.

Coming soon, most probably, will be application for over 100 more houses right across Carbon Canyon Road on the so-called Hidden Oaks property (well, hidden might apply to the 2,000 oak trees butchered by a developer who then abandoned their plans years ago.)  The development plan requires a zoning change which city staff are more than happy to accommodate for the owners.

Further east, the Stonefield property, with approval for 28 houses, is for sale below the S-curve and near the Western Hills Golf Course.

So, do the math and see that are possible 200+ homes that could be in the works on the Chino Hills part of the canyon alone.

In Brea, there is an appeal pending on an Orange County Superior Court ruling overturning the city's approval of the Madrona project of 162 houses between Sleepy Hollow and Olinda Village.  The State of Idaho, which holds the property in receivership, is pursuing the appeal.  That's why a fundraiser is being held this weekend--a post just a few days ago here gives a link for more info on that.

Hidden Oaks and Not-So-Hidden Traffic in Carbon Canyon

While heading eastbound on Carbon Canyon Road this morning at a little before 8, it was observed that one of the owners of the Hidden Oaks property, proposed for 107 houses south of the state highway and directly across from the in-progres 76 unit Hillcrest project (yes, that's 183 more houses for a population of almost 800 people that will access Carbon Canyon Road from one intersection) was out at the entrance talking to someone . . . and smiling.

More than likely, the property owner wasn't smiling at the westbound commuter traffic that wound its way, as this blogger continued east, all the way back to Chino Hills Parkway, with a few small breaks in between the continuous line.

More than likely, the property owner, who told this blogger at a community meeting that he and his fellow investors all planned to live in their development and who would, if this were true (a cynic might suggest it was a line to placate opponents of the project) have to deal first-hand with the mounting volume of traffic, was smiling at the thought of the profits he envisions if he can get approval for the project and then sell the property for the expected increase in value that would accrue.

More than likely, the property owner will not be around if the project was built (again, this is a cynic's conjecture) and the traffic continued to get worse, on top of the fire risk for a project largely built on ridge tops where wind gusts are stronger, on top of the uncertainty of future water supply for what will be the same general type of "luxury" embodied in "estate homes" on large lots.

More than likely, if the property owner realizes his ambitions and makes his money from speculation (says the said cynic) and goes smiling all the way to the bank (or wherever the dollars flow), those of us still living in Carbon Canyon and dealing with the consequences won't be smiling.

A Ramble Through the Chino Hills North of Carbon Canyon

A nice shaded section of the route on this afternoon's trek.  Click on any photo to see them in enlarged views in separate windows.

This being a few days into spring and a beautiful one, a jaunt into the Chino Hills about 1 1/2 miles or so north of Carbon Canyon seemed like a great idea and it was a nice ramble along access roads parallelling the TRTP towers recently installed along a west-to-east corridor.

Looking south towards Carbon Canyon, with a bit of the graded Hillcrest housing project just left of center.

This was a walk that was taken along the same route some months ago, but with a significant difference.

One of the behemoth 198-foot TRTP towers striding across the hills from west to east.

The massive 198-foot towers did not yet have the several strands of wire strung from one to the next, but now they, and the multicolored balls that alert aircraft of their presence, are now a very conspicuous presence.  Some of the fine views obtained along the way are now compromised by having the wires in the line of sight.

A spray of purple wildflowers along the route.

Still, depending on where you are on the trek, the towers and wires may be on one side or the other, so there are still plenty of excellent vantage points looking in all directions.

Sunflowers also sprouting along the trail's edge.

For example, a glance to the north or the west can take in Tres Hermanos Ranch, Tonner Canyon, and the Boy Scouts of America camp, recently purchased by the City of Industry.

Looking towards the southeast and to Carbon Canyon and beyond.

Beyond are the towering peaks of the San Gabriel Mountains, the San Jose Hills from Pomona and San Dimas to Walnut and West Covina and the Puente Hills from Rowland Heights over towards Whittier.

This view looks southwest towards Brea and Orange County.

To the south and the east are more of the Chino Hills, large areas bordering Carbon Canyon from the summit in Chino Hills out toward Olinda Village in Brea.

To the northwest and Diamond Bar, the Puente Hills and the San Gabriel Valley.

In the distance are the Santa Ana Mountains and further out can be seen the San Joaquin Hills near Irvine and Newport Beach and, on clearer days than this, the Pacific Ocean.

Looking out to Tres Hermanos Ranch in Tonner Canyon and the San Gabriel range in the distance.

A clear view can be seen from points along the hike of the St. Joseph's Hill of Hope religious community in Lion's Canyon just above Carbon Canyon to the south of the trail, while to the north and west are camp sites, shooting ranges and other facilities from the Boy Scouts reservation.

Another view to the south and towards Carbon Canyon.

Given that some of these latter facilities are not in Tonner Canyon but are in adjacent canyons and locations, it may be that, although Industry has purchased more of the Scouts property, some of the sites may still be used by the scouting organization.

It is said that Industry is looking to convert much of Tonner Canyon to water storage for city needs, but how much of an impact that could have on other uses of the reservation is not known.

A lengthy section of the winding trail is captured here.

As to the still-abundant swaths of oak and walnut woodland habitat, it is nice to see some amount of greenery, even though this winter has brought only a fraction (about 5 inches) of the deluges predicted because of the El Niño storm system.

It looks like there is a chance for some showers from Tuesday to Thursday in the coming week, but how much greener our hills will get is certainly not clear.

Just one of many old, spreading and majestic oaks in our local hills.

Of course, with the Hillcrest housing development of 76 units in process just north of Carbon Canyon east of Sleepy Hollow and with the specter of other projects looking including the Stonecrest property of 28 approved units near the summit in the Chino Hills portion, the pending hearings for the 107-unit Hidden Oaks south of the Canyon, and the appeal of the 162-unit Madrona project north of the canyon between Sleepy Hollow and Olinda Village, the long-term prognosis for the area is still very much in dispute.

An outstanding example of a grove of oaks along the trail.

For the time being, we should enjoy the beauty of what remains in Carbon Canyon while we still have what is still here.

Carbon Canyon Housing Project Editorial

This view looks east from near Olinda Village in Brea across the hills on the north edge of Carbon Canyon, including the proposed Madrona project site (162 units, recently denied by an Orange County judge) and, at the right further in the distance, the 76-unit Hillcrest development, now under construction.

Here is the text of a letter to the editor which appeared in the Champion's current edition concerning pending housing developments in Carbon Canyon:

Concerning the “Chino Hills planners bless Canyon project architecture” article from January 9, planning commissioner Karen Bristow’s comment about Carbon Canyon residents not welcoming the Hillcrest community “because it was the beginning of subdivisions which they are not used to” may apply to some people, but here’s another reason. 

This project was not only approved by the county in 1989, but under a negative declaration engineered by then-Supervisor Robert O. Townsend.  This meant the project did not have an environmental impact report, because the declaration determined one was not needed.  

However, not only have conditions in the last 27 years changed enormously in the Canyon, with respect to traffic volume, fire risk, and loss of habitat, but our general water supply and other environmental conditions have transformed, as well.  No development should get this type of protection for decades.  

Significantly, Chino Hills appears ready to approve a zoning variance for another project, the 107-unit Hidden Oaks development, just across Carbon Canyon Road—this can’t be blamed on “the county days.”  The Hidden Oaks area was zoned under the city’s general plan with plenty of due consideration for legitimate reasons.  A change to benefit the developer at the expense of zoning appropriate for the canyon will compound the wrong perpetrated with Hillcrest decades ago.

We already have other projects in the pipeline on the Chino Hills side of the canyon that will potentially add nearly 250 houses.  The 162-unit Madrona project just over the county line on the Brea side was dealt a rare court defeat recently, but will probably be appealed.   Can we really see a viable future with what could be over 400 new homes in Carbon Canyon?  Conditions have changed, but accommodations for developers evidently have not.

The Hidden Oaks project will likely be coming before the Chino Hills Planning Commission soon, after which, pending approval by that body, the matter goes to the city council.

Anyone concerned about the effects and ramifications of another large-scale (over 100 units) development coming to the canyon, on the heels of the 76-unit Hillcrest development, now under construction, and the 28-unit Stonefield tract, now up for sale, and a couple of other smaller pending projects, should be ready to express their views when the time comes.

Hidden Oaks Environmental Impact Report Notice Commentary

The Hidden Oaks housing development site in Carbon Canyon, proposed for 107 luxury custom home lots.

Here is a submitted comment of a local resident to the City of Chino Hills concerning the Notice of Preparation for the Environmental Impact Report with the Hidden Oaks project, proposing 107 custom lots in Carbon Canyon, south of Carbon Canyon Road at Canyon Hills Road:

           The first concern has to do with the city staff’s request for clustering, ostensibly intended to protect more ridgelines and natural features within the project site.  Unfortunately, while clustering may work very well in certain types of developments and environments, it is entirely another matter with Hidden Oaks.  A review of the maps presented at last month’s scoping meeting indicate that the clusters actually serve to divide up “open space” (put in brackets because it is unclear how much natural vs. manufactured open space there will actually be] that limits the effectiveness of the clustering arrangement.  This is particularly so in regards to animal movement as well as general aesthetics for the Carbon Canyon area, such as visibility from nearby areas including Chino Hills State Park and the clustering of high concentrations of artificial ambient light.

Clustering, in this project, also serves to further complicate emergency evacuations in case of fire, which is a serious risk to this property, having been burned several times in recent decades, most notably in November 2008. This is especially so considering the one main route in and out of the proposed development and what appears to be a significantly under-considered emergency access road out through the Vellano community, given existing local fire department standards for such roads.  The alternative emergency access road not only would, along with an unneeded public park added as a sweetener to the project, decimate an excellent mature oak grove, but would only be a few hundred yards west of the main entrance and deposit fleeing residents onto a congested Carbon Canyon Road.

Finally, in order to accommodate the desires of the developer (rather than the concerns of the community in which the project is located), the city, which has no legal obligation to do so, proposes a zoning change for clustering.  Chino Hills citizens in 1999 passed Measure U precisely in response to excessive zoning changes granted by accommodating city councils to developers to the detriment of local and broader communities and, especially, to the sensitivities of places such as Carbon Canyon, which has unique characteristics.  This property should be developed under existing zoning, which were developed for entirely valid reasons and which are far better for the site in terms of aesthetics, emergency evacuation, animal movement and other aspects. 

                Secondly, the fire risk is greatly increased by the siting of houses along ridge tops and hillsides leading to ridges.  Ridge tops and other higher elevation areas are not only exposed to stronger wind gusts, but the canyons and gullies that lead to them are natural funnels for fire.  Even with so-called “fuel modification zones,” walls of flame that can reach several dozen feet or more in heights and, importantly, embers that can travel up to a mile, can breach these sites.  Anyone conducting EIRs in areas like this, that are actually, on the Orange County/Brea portion of the canyon, signed by CalTrans as a “Hazardous Fire Area”, should carefully watch and review Living With Fire, a 22-minute film released in June 2013 by the United States Geological Survey through its Southern California Wildfire Risk Project.  This film can be downloaded online at: http://gallery.usgs.gov/videos/620.  As increasingly larger portions of our state burn from year-to-year, it is imperative that abundant caution be utilized by local governments when considering housing projects in wildland or wildland-adjacent areas.

                With regards to air quality, while it is obvious that any large-scale housing development project will generate particles that exceed CEQA mitigation standards, there is always the fallback of using a Statement of Overriding Consideration (SOC).  The question for the city becomes: what form of mitigation through an SOC will actually have any meaning for the canyon, as opposed to what might be done more broadly within the city?  It is also relevant here to note that there are new climate change statutes that should be considered with respect to how housing projects are planned with regard to this and other issues, preeminently water, as well as traffic with respect to emissions.

                Concerning traffic, here is another mitigation problem.  The city would undoubtedly invoke another SOC on this point, but if the thought is that a traffic signal at the project entrance at Carbon Canyon Road and Canyon Hills Road constitutes a meaningful mitigation, the city would do well to reconsider that assumption.  All a signal will do is slow down the vast majority of commuters on Carbon Canyon Road to allow Hidden Oaks residents to turn on to what has become in the last two years, a notably more congested state highway.  It should be further noted that more idling traffic means worse air quality for people, animals and plant life within Carbon Canyon. 

                Finally, there is water.  Obviously, California is in a drought of historic proportions and mandated cuts by the state and local water agencies are in effect.  Yet, as news outlets are increasingly reporting, the grossest users of water are those who live in larger homes on bigger lots in exclusive communities.  This is precisely the type of development embodied by Hidden Oaks.   Hopefully, the EIR will take into account the fact that one of greatest environmental impacts of any development project during this era of unprecedented water scarcity is the amount of water to be consumed by luxury homes on large lots. 

                Hidden Oaks is exactly the kind of project that should be avoided in this and many other contexts.

Another shot of the Hidden Oaks site, taken in early September.

(Not So) Hidden Oaks Scoping Meeting

Required under the conditions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), scoping meetings are said to be opportunities for public input before an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) is prepared for a development project under application with a local jurisdiction.

In this case, the Hidden Oaks housing project, calling for the sale of 107 custom house sites on 537 acres south of Carbon Canyon Road between Sleepy Hollow and Mountain View Estates in the Chino Hills portion of Carbon Canyon, was presented in two sessions last Wednesday afternoon and evening at the McCoy Equestrian Center.

A map showing the 537-acre Hidden Oaks property with the clustering in three principal zones (excepting 5 segregated lots presumably for the project partners), which would require a variance on the existing zoning of one unit per 5-acre lot.  Click on any image to see them in enlarged views in separate windows.

Representatives from the firm contracted by the city (rather than the developer) to draft the EIR, as well as city planning department staff, were on hand to present an overview of the project.  Several of the partners proposing the project were also at the back of the room quietly observing the proceedings.

This blogger was at the second meeting and there were probably around 30 residents, along with the aforemnetioned, as the presentations were made, principally by Dave Crook of PCR, the contracted firm writing the EIR.  Among the key components discussed were:

• The zoning for the property is one unit per five acres.
• What the applicant proposes, however, is to request a zoning variance to cluster the 107 lots in a few core areas, so that lot sizes actually vary from a minimum of just over 13,000 to a maximum of 35,000 square feet.
• This was, evidently, done at the behest of city staff, who apply "clustering" to other areas of the city, ostensibly to protect ridgelines and hillsides.
• 449 of the 537 acres are to be in a "natural state" through seven open space lots.
• Amenities include public and private trails, a private clubhouse, and a 3.8 acre park along the frontage on Carbon Canyon Road for the gated community.
• A secondary emergency access road is needed and there are two locations:
• One would be just a few hundred yards west of the main entrance at Carbon Canyon and Canyon Hills roads, close to where a thick grove of oak trees abuts against Sleepy Hollow.
• The other would go eastward from the project into the Vellano community--it has been stated that the Vellano HOA is amenable to having direct access from Hidden Oaks (there is currently a secondary access from the Western Hills Oaks community in Carbon Canyon into Vellano).

A detail of the above map showing the projected location of a 3.8 public park along Carbon Canyon Road, though this park would require the partial destruction of a beautiful oak grove.  An alternate emergency access road, just a short distance west of the main entrance, would require further destruction of those oaks.

The EIR would analyze the project's effects on several aspects of the environment from traffic to aesthetics to biological resources to air pollution and others and then determine projected impacts, identify alternatives, and disclose a reduction and avoidance of impacts.

What the presentation did not discuss, tellingly, was that the city may issue Statements of Overriding Considerations (SOCs) that would accept mitigation altenatives from the developer that, theoretically, would "override" those impacts that are considered significant, unavoidable environmental impacts.

The reason this is important is that these mitigations could be applied anywhere in the city, even though the impacts are within Carbon Canyon, and this leads to a question of how we define "mitigation" in that context.

A detail of the above map, showing, in red, a proposed public trail at the eastern end of the project site.

The anticipated schedule is that technical studies and the Draft EIR will be prepared this Winter.  In Spring 2016, the Draft and Final EIRs will be reviewed, written and presented.  In Summer 2016, the Chino Hills Planning Commission and City Council would hold their hearings and make their recommendation (in the case of the former) and decision (for the latter).

The central question, it seems, is whether the request for a zoning variance is subject to the conditions of Measure U, passed by citizens in 1999, requiring a vote of the people of Chino Hills for any change in zoning from the General Plan.

This is related to a number of comments overheard at the meeting about why the applicant should be permitted (even with staff recommendations) to change the current 1 unit per 5 acres to the clustered arrangements.

The principal clustering of dozens of lots at the western end of the project site, a good distance from the main entrance and the more viable of the secondary emergency access roads to Vellano, which would be at the other (eastern) end of the site.

While it is true that the clustering would still present a "1-in-5" of sorts by keeping the total number of custom lots at 107 for 537 acres, that reconfiguration could present a range of problems.  

For example, unlike Oak Tree Downs across the canyon, which has much larger lots for its custom homes, Hidden Oaks would create lots in a few areas that would involve a much greater visible presence in many cases (this ties to the aesthetic component of the EIR), and require a more concentrated grading plan (relating to the air pollution aspects of the report.)

Another issue, separate from the EIR, is that the clustering could make it far more difficult to evacuate residents in the case of a major wildfire, because they would be packed into compressed areas within the development.

A smaller cluster on the project site.

There would also be a more concentrated destruction of the oak and walnut woodland habitat that is increasingly being obliterated by development in Carbon Canyon.  This is a major matter because two previous iterations of this project included the wholesale destruction of oaks and other elements.

Related to this is how much of the property is considered "disturbed," presumably because of previous destruction by other developers, though this was not discussed or explained at the meeting.  On top of this, there is the matter of significant areas of the project site featuring non-native invasive species, which could be considered a reflection of frequent wildfires (which are increasing in frequency in recent years) and the destructive impact on native species, which are cleared out and opening the way for the invasives.

Additionally, now that there is an oak tree ordinance in effect in the city, there would have to be replanting program requiring a certain number of replacement trees for each one destroyed.  The problem is that you can't really "replace" an old, natural oak by a planted one and, in many cases, the replanted items, whatever they may be, just don't survive.

This satellite view of the project site gives a better idea of the project's placement within the topography.

A clear visual demonstration of what can happen with the "mnaufactured landscape" concept is across the canyon at what is now the Elements project, formerly Pine Valley Estates.  Despite beautiful conceptual renderings of how the slopes above the houses would look with replanting, those areas look like desiccated moonscapes.

Questions and comments from attendees covered the public trails; water supply; sewers; visibility of at least 30 lots from Carbon Canyon Road; the destruction of ridgelines; the emergency access road alternatives; drainages from the property of runoff into Soquel Canyon, into which the property descends; the question of insurance availability because of fire risk and insurance companies being more reluctant to cover canyon homeowners; why the clustering was proposed; and whether a public park is necessary.

This legend for the map shown below identifies plant communities on the site--note the non-native invasives and the identified "disturbed" areas, totaling about 20% of the property.

On this last point, it was noted that the Western Hills Park, a few hundred yards east of the project site at Canon Lane and Carbon Canyon Road, is little-used.  Besides, to create the park, a beautiful, thick grove of natural oaks would have to be destroyed.  When planning director Jo Ann Lombardo asked the attendees whether they liked the idea of a park, almost everyone unequivocally stated they did not think one was needed.

Then, there was traffic, which seemed to be a top issue among many people in the audience, especially how the additional 1,000+ daily car trips would be "mitigated" by the city.  If mitigation consists of a traffic signal at Canyon Hills Road and Carbon Canyon Road and dedicated ingress/egress lanes to and from the project, how will these actually improve conditions, rather than contribute to their further worsening?

After the presentations, a conversation was had by several attendees and principal investor K.V. Kumar and his associates.  Kumar stated, among other things, that the project was designed to provide aesthetic beauty through fine architecture and other elements; that he and several of his partners intended to build and live in the community (and, strangely, not drive that much, cutting down on the projected car trips.)

The plant communities map for the project site, including significant swaths in yellow of areas permeated by non-native invasives and those considered "disturbed."  Much of this presumably involves areas burned by frequent wildfires and subjected to degradation by the butchering of a few thousand oak and other trees by previous developers.

Mr. Kumar clearly has much experience in selling his projects and projects a certain confidence and charm as he talks face-to-face.  Whether what he is saying will be reflected in reality has to be seen.  Meantime, those interested in knowing more about him can click here.  The list of his accomplishments, as stated, is very interesting.

So, there is now a 30-day comment period in effect for anyone to send in their concerns and suggestions before the EIR is drafted.  This timeframe is through 14 October and comments can be directed to Kim Zuppiger of the City of Chino Hills at kzuppiger@chinohills.org.

A Ramble Among (Not So) Hidden Oaks

Looking northeast from the Hidden Oaks site towards Oak Tree Downs and the San Gabriel Mountains. Click on any photo to see the set in enlarged views in new windows.

This morning, just after some badly-needed rain, and before the heat returns, this blogger took a hike with a fellow Sleepy Hollow resident in the hills between Carbon and Soquel canyons where the strangely-named Hidden Oaks development is to be built.

Sleepy Hollow from the Hidden Oaks parcel.  A section of the hilltops scraped clean by the Canyon Hills development now in process is at the far right along the unprotected ridgeline of the hills above the community.

This site has already been mangled twice by previous developers--one who tore out oak trees, put them in containers, and left them to die along Carbon Canyon Road and another who simply bulldozed hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of them.  The current developer would have to destroy many more to build the 107 houses and infrastructure for the project and then plant new trees as mitigation (except that most replantings fail to survive.)

Another panoramic view from Hidden Oaks looking north.  The Canyon Hills project is at the center across Carbon Canyon.

The morning started off cloudy, though still humid, as we headed up the east side of Sleepy Hollow and moved onto the Hidden Oaks property, which borders that community.  An entrance road would climb from Carbon Canyon Road at Canyon Hills Road to the highest elevation of the hill, where a relatively flat pair of benches or table lands would contain most of the homes.

This view is southeast from Hidden Oaks towards Soquel Canyon and towards the North Ridge trail of Chino Hills State Park, from where hikers someday would get an uninterrupted view of 107 estate-sized homes if Hidden Oaks is built.

These areas, by the way, would also be those most exposed to high winds, just like the unprotected ridgelines of the in-process Canyon Hills development, which, inexplicably has been exempt from updated environmental impact reports even though it was first approved in the 1980s, when conditions were wildly different from now.  Except that, these higher-elevation locales are subject to wind gusts that will move wildfires faster, as will the gullies and canyons that lead up to these spots.

A newly-built fence with a sign for a habitat conservation area established by the Riverside Land Conservancy on a few hundred acres on the hills above and the lands within Soquel Canyon, adjacent to Hidden Oaks.

In the case of Hidden Oaks, which did have an updated environmental impact report, its proximity to Chino Hills State Park and other wild-land areas, there will also be more exposure to flying embers, which can travel up to a mile over cleared areas, fire protection zones and other mitigation measures.

A section of the habitat conservation area of the Riverside Land Conservancy tract within Soquel Canyon looking west towards Brea.

The current huge outbreak of fires in central and northern California, which have destroyed hundreds of homes and burned hundreds of thousands of acres, might seem a world away.  For now, southern California has been spared those kids of horrific conflagrations, but we'd be deluding ourselves if we thought we're not going to experience major fires this year or some time soon. 

Irrigation pipe laid out along the north side of Soquel Canyon Road looking west.

It is also delusional if the thought is that building more homes in wild-land areas, even with these "mitigation" efforts within tracts, is going to make the threat smaller. 

The walk took us to the far eastern boundary of the Hidden Oaks site, not far from the western edge of Vellano, separated from the former by some canyons, including Telephone Canyon, through which a road descends into Soquel Canyon.

The new gate to the Riverside Land Conservancy habitat conservation area in Soquel Canyon looking east towards Chino Hills.

There was a surprise--namely, that a few hundred acres between Hidden Oaks and the Vellano/Aerojet parcels has been obtained via a land bank mitigation by the Riverside Land Conservancy, an organization that states on its Web site (see here) that it has protected some 12,000 acres in Riverside, San Bernardino and nearby counties.

Throughout the parcel, there are brightly-colored flags marking locations for new plantings as a habitat restoration project is initiated.  Along Soquel Canyon Road, largely on the south side, though there is a patch of land on the north, as well, there are the beginnings of an irrigation system to water these soon-to-be-replanted areas.
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Soquel Canyon Creek, which, hopefully, will have lots of water if predictions of a very wet El Niño winter are true.

As my fellow hiker noted, it is commonplace for developers to refer to overgrazed, fire-scorched, under-watered areas like those in our local canyons as "degraded."  This connotation seems intended to infer "irreparable," as if the only way to redeem these natural, though stressed, environments, is to bulldoze, pave and build estate-sized homes on them!

So, we'll see whether the Conservancy's efforts yield a successful outcome, because, if so, the idea of "degraded" landscapes will have to, in the main, be rethought.

Another flat section of the Hidden Oaks project, where 107 homes will be built if the project comes to fruition.

The walk continued west through Soquel Canyon, where there are times in which you can't see or hear anything from the "civilized" world that continues to encroach upon it.  Maybe that peaceful, relatively undisturbed environment is so "uncivilized" that it has to be developed into a civilized place full of motor vehicles, ambient light, and all that suburbia has to offer.

We continued up what my neighbor refers to as "Rock Canyon," a place that, in well-watered times, can be stunningly beautiful with large rock waterfalls, huge spreading oaks and other natural elements.  The question is: what will happen to this canyon when Hidden Oaks  comes to fruition?  Will it be a conduit for urban runoff from the 107 houses, its streets, and landscaping down to Soquel Creek?

A section of "Rock Canyon" which leads from Hidden Oaks' upper sections down to Soquel Canyon.

After a rather steep trek through dense growths of weeds and invasive plants, we emerged on the main bench where the majority of these homes would be built.  Skirting around a cadre of cattle, of which more and more have been let loose to overgraze areas like this, wreaking havoc on the oak and walnut woodland habitat, we headed back to Sleepy Hollow.  The hike was probably about five miles and covered in something like 2 1/2 hours.

Not far in to the walk, the skies started to clear, though there were some pretty impressive cloud formations in the sky, along with the admittedly excellent views, similar to those to be found at Canyon Hills and Madrona, the two other major approved projects within a short distance.

Soquel Canyon Road looking east with irrigation pipe for the Riverside Land Conservancy habitat conservation area lying along the north side of the road.

Next Wednesday the 23rd, as noted in an earlier post, there will be two sessions, from 4-5:30 and 6:30-8 p.m., of so-called "scoping" meetings, held at the McCoy Equestrian Center on Peyton Drive across from Ayala High School, about Hidden Oaks.  Representatives will be there to discuss the project, show site maps, and explain the findings of the environmental impact report.  Public comment closes on 14 October and then the matter will move on to the Planning Commission and City Council.

Those who care about what is happening in the canyon might want to attend this meeting and find out what is in store in upcoming years.  Approval by the city is likely certain.

A section of the road leading down from Telephone Canyon towards Soquel Canyon.

Hidden Oaks Housing Development Public Meeting on 23 September

The Hidden Oaks project, planning for 107 houses on 537 acres of hilltop and hillside land directly across from the in-process 76-unit Canyon Hills development, south of Carbon Canyon Road between Sleepy Hollow and Mountain View Estates, is moving to the next stage.

On Wednesday, 23 September from 4-5:30 p.m. and 6:30-8 p.m., a "scoping meeting" will be held at the McCoy Equestrian Center on Peyton Drive across from Ayala High School and next to the Chino Hills Community Center.

The purpose, according to an article in tomorrow's Champion is for the public "to provide input on the effects of the project" based on the environmental impact report (EIR) now being completed.  Further "input" in the form of public comment to the draft EIR will be accepted by the city until Wednesday, 14 October.

The estate-sized homes will be on minimum 5-acre lots, according to the article, yet the piece also states that the structures will be clustered "onto a flat area," with 427 acres, or almost 80% of the property, consisting of open space.

Clearly, the lots will not be five acres, but probably under an acre apiece, especially with proposed amenities like a 4-acre park, clubhouse, and trails.  More significantly is the somewhat misleading use of "a flat area" to describe where the clustered residences would go.

The property is actually hilly, with some relatively flat sections along the tops of the hills.  Obviously, a goodly amount of cut-and-fill, scraping, and other "manicuring" of the natural landscape will make the parcel seem a lot flatter.

These, however, are areas that will not only receive more wind gusts, because of their elevation, but will also be subject to funnelling from gullies and small canyons around the project site.  Why this matters is because wildfires travel much faster when aided by hilltop winds, as well as carried more quickly when ascending and descending canyons and gullies.

Needless to say, our chronic drought condition leads to another question about water for "estate-sized" residences and their landscaping.

A third major question, aside from wildfire risk and water, is, naturally, the addition of more vehicles, some 1,100 daily car trips, on a Carbon Canyon Road that is increasingly seeing more commuter hours use.  Anyone who has driven the road in the last couple of weeks since school has opened for the year has noticed that the backup in the mornings is greater than in past years.  Even earlier hours, such as before 6:30, have included more westbound traffic in the last couple of years.

This doesn't include the effects of Hidden Oaks along with the other approved projects in the canyon--Madrona at 162, Canyon Hills with 76, and Stonefield totaling 28 units--and the approximately 1,500 more residents and nearly 4,000 car trips a day the quartet of projects will bring.

The history of the project is also outlined in the piece, starting with approval of 114 houses on the site by San Bernardino County in 1989 when there seemed to be all the water needed, Carbon Canyon Road was lightly traveled compared to now, and there were no wildfires in the canyon . . . oops, actually there was one in 1978 and another in 1990 and so on.

In that first iteration, "hundreds of removed trees were placed in buckets along Carbon Canyon Road and left to die," the article continued.

Then, in 1998, as the housing market recovered after the bubble of the late 80s/early 90s was ancient history, a new plan was offered for 341 houses was put forward.  Measure U, passed the following year in large measure (!) to the new proposal's density, put a damper on that plan because voters now have to approve such requests.  But, that project died before anything was done--well, except for the fact that the owner butchered 523 oak trees before abandoning the idea.

The Champion article observes that the city did require the unnamed developer to "address impacts to slopes, ridgelines, and biological resources" and notes that Chino Hills "worked with the developer to create a specific plan."

Do these mitigations include where to find more water . . . or, deal with walls of flame forty feet high like those seen in the November 2008 fire, as well as manage an orderly evacuation of residents in the canyon  . . . or, how to deal with traffic on a two-lane road that cannot be widened other than have a traffic signal that will only slow down everyone on Carbon Canyon Road during those commuter hours . . .  or, how all of this will maintain a high quality of living in a canyon that already has three approved projects totaling 266 houses plus the 107 proposed at Hidden Oaks for a grand total of 373 units?

Maybe those questions will be addressed on the 23rd . . . or not.

Hidden Oaks Project More Visible

As reported in the Champion in yesterday's edition, the Hidden Oaks housing project, proposing 107 houses, a nearly four-acre park, a clubhouse, and trails on 110 of 537 acres south of Carbon Canyon Road at Canyon Hills Road and across from the in-process Canyon Hills development of 76 units, is moving forward many years after a predecessor project, which removed some 2,000 oak and other trees on the site, failed.

This coming Tuesday, the Chino Hills City Council is likely to vote for an environmental impact report (EIR) from PCR Services Corporation costing just over $400,000, which is to be reimbursed by the developer.

During the course of the EIR, a public meeting and accumulation of written comments will be included.

It is a certainty that the EIR will find that the project creates significant unavoidable adverse impacts on the environment by the criteria of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).  This is an environment that has changed greatly since CEQA was enacted in the early 1970s, so the criteria are actually outdated.  Therefore, the responses will be, as well.

Then, as a matter of course, the City will then do all it can in its power to issue Statements of Overriding Consideration (SOCs) as the developer promises benefits that will (presumably) accrue to the city as a whole, regardless of the fact that those significant unavoidable adverse impacts remain in effect in the canyon.

Here's the scorecard for approved developments within Carbon Canyon:

Canyon Hills (Chino Hills)          76 homes
Stonefield (Chino Hills)               24
Madrona (Brea)                          162

Total                                           262 homes

Hidden Oaks (if approved)        107

Presumed total                           369 homes

This means:

• some 1,600 or more additional residents 
• thousands of daily car trips 
• more traffic on Carbon Canyon Road, which cannot be widened beyond its two-lane status 
• more difficulty in arranging emergency evacuations for the wildfires that will strike again 
• fires that are more quickly spread on exposed hilltops like the ones these developments will largely occupy 
• more water for these larger-sized homes and lots when we're being asked to cut consumption dramatically during an unprecedented drought 
• more removal and pollution affecting our diminished oak-and-walnut woodland habitat

So, those who find the above problematic might want to attend the public meeting, submit written comments and then let their voices be heard at the planning commission and city council meetings when the project comes up for approval.

Another Ramble in the Hills Above Carbon Canyon

Rock Canyon looking southeast towards Soquel Canyon and, at the top of the hills in the distance, Chino Hills State Park.  This area could be totally altered by the Hidden Oaks development for water runoff from the proposed 107-unit housing tract now in application with the City of Chino Hills.

This afternoon, another short hike was taken with a longtime resident who has a strong interest in preserving trail access in Carbon Canyon because of the remarkable physical, natural, and scenic features of this remarkable place.

Notably, while there is an established trail system in Chino Hills, including some fine ones off of Grand Avenue, Chino Hills Parkway and other locations where the views are excellent, there are no public trails of any significance in Carbon Canyon, which offers unparalleled experiences not found elsewhere in the city.

A crater from the removal nearly two decades ago of a massive old oak tree bulldozed for an aborted precursor to Hidden Oaks--many of these dot the destroyed landscape when some 2,000 trees were levelled by a developer who then abandoned the project, leaving the disturbed property behind.

Today's jaunt was above Sleepy Hollow and then slightly east to the area now slated for development as "Hidden Oaks," which is being processed as a 107-unit gated community high on the ridgetops between Carbon and Soquel canyons.  Though it has been said here before that the project is entitled and, consequently, virtually assured of approval by the city, that was evidently in error.

There still has to be, once a plan is submitted to and reviewed by the City of Chino Hills, a new Environmental Impact Report (EIR), which will raise the matter of significant adverse impacts to the environment that could affect the approval of the project.  EXCEPT, that the City could (and, in fact, almost certainly would) impose Statements of Overriding Consideration (SOCs) that would provide grounds for approval based on perceived benefits to the city (though not necesarily the canyon) from the project that would override those impacts revealed in the EIR.

What appears to be a soil-testing area for the Hidden Oaks project.  This fairly flat ridgetop area would contain the 107 houses in view of Chino Hills State Park, on the hilltops in the distance and, as a windswept area with steep canyons to its south, would be susceptible to significant fire risk.

For example, the recently-approved Madrona project of 162 houses on the Brea side of the Canyon just over the county line from Sleepy Hollow was issued an unprecedented three SOCs by the city council (which, by the way, established a new precedent that the city will have to contend with in future developments.)

Moreover, the impacts that will be brought to bear by the Madrona, Canyon Hills, and Stonefield projects, totaling 262 units, will not be considered under the Hidden Oaks project when the EIR is done, because those projects are not completed.

These flags are other indicators of ongoing testing at the project site.

This last point is significant, because the EIR will measure traffic levels, for example, but only those based on measurements of traffic taken at the time.  Yet, there will be 262 houses coming at some point in the future, involving something on the order of 2,600 daily car trips and these won't be part of the EIR because the homes aren't built yet.  Naturally, this applies to other considerations (destruction of oak and walnut woodland habitat, being a key one.)

Another area of concern for Hidden Oaks is not just trails and the massive amount of cut-and-fill involving huge tonnage of dirt hauled out and brought in for fill, but also the matter of where water runoff from streets and other elements of the development is being directed.  The land in question is some 500 acres from Carbon Canyon Road all the way south into Soquel Canyon, so the plan evidently is to dump the runoff into Soquel Creek.

Somewhat obscured by felled trees, tangled vines, walnut trees and other plant material, the impressive upper fall of Rock Canyon has a rock face of some 40 feet in height that, in wet years, provides a spectacular waterfall experience.  This winter might provide above "average" rainfall, so this could be a beautiful site in coming months.

Moreover, the route could well go through one of the prettiest spots in all of the Carbon/Soquel canyons area, a stunning little place called "Rock Canyon," by a long-time rancher, Bill Friend, who recently passed away and whose cattle have grazed in these canyons via leases for many years.

Today's walk took in the sylvan scenes of Rock Canyon, even with the extreme dryness of our long-term drought, and despite the brutal clearing of the Hidden Oaks property when it was approved for development nearly twenty years ago and some 2,000 trees, including majestic oaks, were bulldozed before the developer went bankrupt and the project died (that's another sore subject--letting someone destroy on that scale without reasonable assurances, like a bond, that they could actually carry out the project!)

The creek in Rock Canyon descends steeply and narrowly as it moves southeast towards Soquel Canyon.  The cattle trail at right winds through and along its banks.

Rock Canyon descends from the ridgetops in a steep southeasterly direction with three distinct waterfall areas.  The tallest, having a rock face of some forty feet in heights, is spectacular, when there is water, that is.  At the moment, being bone dry and somewhat covered in vines, trees and shrubs and fallen dead plant material, its majesty is somewhat shrouded, but still evident.  Further down are two smaller falls that, while not as remarkable as the uppermost, are still pretty spots with large boulders that provide a nice splashing and crashing during good rainy years.  Even in this drought, there is still weeping and seepage of water at these several falls and plant material is using this water to maintain what growth they can.

The canyon terminates by joining Soquel Creek, which runs along the northern edge of Soquel Canyon and even that watercourse, which usually has at least some flow most years, is totally dry, at least at the confluence with Rock Canyon.  As noted above, the project's acreage includes a portion of Soquel Canyon and even climbs a bit of the southfacing hill, the other side of which is Chino Hills State Park.

The creek at Rock Canyon as it terminates at Soquel Creek in Soquel Canyon.

In fact, that is another lamentable aspect of Hidden Oaks.  Not only would it destroy some of the most picturesque landscape in Carbon Canyon, among many other impacts, but its position on the ridgetop between Carbon and Soquel canyons would make it highly visible from the state park, totally defeating the purpose of having a protected wildland area that would allow hikers, bikers and equestrians to get some respite from urban encroachment.

There is another consideration:  overgrazing by cattle, especially in the midst of this terrible drought, is dessicating the landscape, here and throughout Carbon Canyon.  This was noticed in the last significant rain when eroded soil poured onto Carbon Canyon Road just west of Chino Hills Parkway for the steep, denuded slopes below the "maternity hotel" perched on the ridgetop.  That didn't just happen and the problem will be found elsewhere in which cattle continue to graze where the plant material has diminished.

Soquel Creek, which usually has some water in it but is, of course, dry during this debilitating drought, as it moves westward from the confluence with Rock Canyon creek.

Hidden Oaks, like Madrona and other developments, is part of the relentless march of suburbia that continues to swallow up Carbon Canyon and diminishes, defaces, demeans and destroys more of our oak and wildland woodland habitat. At some point, the very reasons most people move to a place like Carbon Canyon are being compromised, often fatally, reducing it to something unrecognizable and far less appealing.

Then, there is the worsening traffic, increased fire risk, excessive use of water and everything else that makes tract developments like this anachronisms, relics of a time now gone when it was thought that massive building could go on seemingly indefinitely.  Yet, instead of adjusting to changing realities in our environment, the same framework continues to be applied.  That framework is faulty and failing, but so long as the developers make money and governments serve as willing accomplices, then it will still hold sway, leaving the reckoning to those who come along later.

Another pretty spot along Rock Creek even in the driest of situations.

For the time being, there probably won't be any building at Hidden Oaks for at least a few years yet.  It is also possible the owners will look for that tentative tract map to be approved, thereby raising the value of the land and giving return on their investment, and then sell the property.  Obviously, economic uncertainty continues, as well, so it may be that another downturn is somewhere in the near future and delays could ensue.  The same would likely happen if another catastrophic fire like the Freeway Complex blaze of November 2008 takes place--and it will, some day.

Those who enjoy walks like those taken today have time, but it's fleeting.  The fellow hiker on today's trip has enjoyed this walk for some forty years and the prospect of losing access to Rock Canyon is a tough one to contemplate.  Practical considerations are leading him to push to public access through a trail through Rock Canyon while also working to move the runoff to another location and in another way.  Hopefully, at the very least, these worthy goals can be realized.

A view from the Hidden Oaks site northeastward towards Carbon Canyon and, in the distance, the San Gabriel Mountains.  Views like this lure developers, home buyers, and preservationists as competitors vie for their vested interests.

In the big picture, though, the questions become more pressing:

How many more houses can be built in Carbon Canyon before it is no longer what attracts most who live there?

How much worse can the traffic get (and it is getting worse, as anyone who drives Carbon Canyon Road during commuter hours can attest, despite the traffic studies paid for by developers that suggest otherwise)?

How much more water will be taken that we increasingly can't afford to provide for these projects?

How much more of a fire risk will there be on these wind-swept ridgetops with steep canyons ideal for driving fire upslope?

How much longer will local governments continue to operate in an outdated fashion when it comes to large housing tracts in the urban/wildland interface?

Are these questions continuing to be rhetorical?