Residents Balk At Rancho Santa Margarita Chiquita Ridge Survey

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, CA — It sits, pristine, over Rancho Santa Margarita, awaiting what comes next. Chiquita Ridge awaits either development or more years of open space and now residents are being asked what they want to see in the open area.

Not much, is the overarching initial opinion.

"Under a Settlement agreement with various parties including the County of Orange, if the City-owned property on Chiquita Ridge is ever to be developed, 37-acres must remain open space with 55-acres available for potential development," The city said.

According to the city's social media page, of that 55-acres, 23-acres is required to be an active sports park, and 32-acres would be available for other development.

What that other development would be, would also be subject to extensive community input according to the city. The survey was open to residents of Rancho Santa Margarita, however the residents in Las Flores were notably not allowed to participate.

"This short survey asks our residents if there is an interest in, or need for, an active sports park at this time," the city said. "We hope you'll take a few minutes to share information about your family’s participation in sports, and your opinion on the sports park portion of this potential project."

According to Las Flores resident Katherine GuidErd, commercial development would have a direct impact on residents and travelers of Antonio Parkway.

"Increased traffic, pollution, collisions, crime and completely disregarding the voice of Las Flores is not a very neighborly way to behave," she said.

Other resident questions on the nature of the proposed development project included asking for details on taxes that would pay for development costs, as well as environmental impact reports, and when and if those would be conducted on the Chiquita Ridge project.

"Will there be a survey that asks about the commercial development that is required to support the sports park? the environmental and residential impact of this project? That would do a better job of gauging residents interests of the entire project, not the most pleasant part," resident Shawn Gordon said. "Few people are going to say no to a park, but they may not be to happy about the cost in other areas if they know the whole picture."

The question as to why Las Flores residents were not included was posed to Cheryl Kuta, the Director of Development for the City of Rancho Santa Margarita, and has yet to be answered as of this report.

"Open space, not office space," one resident stated over Facebook, a rallying cry for the Save Chiquita Ridge group, watch-dogging the project.

The survey is available to residents of Rancho Santa Margarita at the following link: ow.ly/Hdu630a5yaj

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