Neighbors See Red as Balloons Gauge Blockage of Views

Like believers encircling a crystal ball, they gathered one recent morning around two large, red balloons.

But while the balloons offered no magic or deep insights, they may settle a dispute in Anaheim that has pitted the observers--city officials, neighbors and the developer of a tract of multimillion-dollar homes--against one another.

At issue: the sweeping vistas in affluent Anaheim Hills. The balloons were sent aloft to determine how high a home can be built before it blocks a neighbor’s view.

The dispute points out the often-delicate balancing act faced by city Orange County officials who want to accommodate development while keeping neighbors happy.

As one exasperated Anaheim official put it: “No one gets everything they want, but that doesn’t keep them from wanting it.�

The new Anaheim Hills housing tract, called Peralta Hills, is just north of Nohl Ranch Road and Meats Avenue, in an area designated a scenic corridor in Anaheim’s general plan. Developers want to build homes in the tract that exceed the corridor’s 25-foot height limit.

Those plans are opposed by the Anaheim Hills Citizen’s Coalition. Members said the $1-million and $2-million homes being designed for the tract below them will disrupt the sweeping views that attracted many of them to the area in the first place.

The neighborhood group has also opposed building a wall along Nohl Ranch Road to protect the privacy of homes in the tract. In fact, many observers said the conflict over the wall is at the heart of the dispute over the height of the homes.

The six-foot-high, 3,200-foot-long, solid brick wall--still unfinished--caused a wave of protest from residents and even some city officials who called it unsightly and said it blocks the views of passing motorists and pedestrians along Nohl Ranch Road.

“It’s the same emotion but a different issue,� coalition president Robert Zemel said. “But I agree, people probably wouldn’t have been so upset if it hadn’t been for the wall.�

Coalition member Sonia Grewel said: “The whole point is that the scenic corridor was established to meet certain objectives, and a 25-foot height limitation was adopted and expected to be adhered to. The development is really an intrusion into the environment.�

Increasingly, Orange County neighborhoods are demanding of cities that accommodations be made, even to protect a view.

Disputes over the loss of views have prompted a ballot initiative in San Clemente restricting the height of trees and shrubs and have cast neighbor against neighbor in communities such as Dana Point and Newport Beach.

Had the San Clemente measure passed, for instance, it would have been the toughest tree restriction law in the state, forcing homeowners to trim trees or shrubs more than 15 feet in height--or the highest point of the property’s roof line--if they blocked someone else’s view.

The measure was defeated by a 57% majority in last year’s election.

Residents under county jurisdiction often face problems because there are no uniform codes. There are 53 planning areas in the county, each with separate rules governing views, said William Melton, a county planner. In these areas citizen’s groups review all developments requiring permits. Other areas are governed by restrictive covenants, enforced by homeowners’ associations.

In a Newport Beach case almost a dozen year ago, a homeowners’ association tried to force foreclosure on several families who refused to top palm trees that neighbors complained blocked ocean views.

And in Dana Point just two years ago, residents went before the county Board of Supervisors in an unsuccessful bid to block a community of single-family homes in Laguna Niguel.

The complaint was the same: vanishing views.

Melton said county height limits range from 10 feet to unlimited. In relatively flat Mission Viejo, for example, there are no limits. But on oceanfront property in south Laguna Beach, the slope of the land might limit homes to 14 feet.

“They’re all different,� Melton said. “It’s going to cost money to build in Orange County, and not everyone is going to like what goes up--those are the only constants.�

Paul Williamson said he understands. The Anaheim businessman bought Lot 32 in the Peralta Hills tract. Ironically, Williamson’s previous home, a spectacular estate called Dove Manor on the south side of Nohl Ranch Road, overlooks that tract.

“I’m really disappointed that people would object to such a nice community of homes as this development will be,� Williamson said. “These homes will be an asset to the city. I have gone and talked to neighbors who live above my lot, and they are not worried about their views being obstructed.�

The new home will be even grander than the old one, Williamson said. He paid nearly $460,000 for the land and expects that the 13,500-square-foot, Mediterranean-style home will be worth more than $2 million when built.

But Williamson must first have his plans approved by a City Council that--prompted by the vocal opposition of the neighborhood coalition--has scheduled public hearings for the first two homes on which height variances are sought.

Williamson, who wants a 35-foot variance, argued that a home of the type of design and scale that he is proposing cannot be built at the maximum 25-foot level.

William Knight, an Anaheim banker who also bought a lot in the tract, said the dispute has already cost him an estimated $11,000. Knight was the first lot owner to seek a height variance for the design of his French chateau-style home, which includes a 40-foot tower.

The City Council eventually approved the variance but only after a two-month delay that added to the cost of plans, architectural displays and time lost, he said.

“The neighbors have a legitimate concern about intrusion onto the environment,� said Dennis Cordoza, general manager of the Victor Construction Co., the tract’s primary developer.

“But we have tried to mitigate that concern. We even graded some hills that were there by as much as 35 feet so there would be no obstructions. Just take a look, nobody is going to lose anything.�

A preliminary visual analysis conducted by Anaheim seemed to support that contention.

The graded elevations of surrounding homes ranged from 50 to 112 feet above the tract, according to the report presented to the City Council. With the possible exception of some homes east of the tract, no views would be obstructed.

But City Council members, at the urging of the coalition, called for a more extensive study.

Thus, the balloons--an attempt to discover how high a structure can be built without blocking the view from nearby sites.

The five-foot-high balloons were placed at different elevations over each of the 41 lots, while pictures were taken from varying angles in the surrounding hills.

Mary McCloskey, the city’s senior planner, said the data compiled will serve as the basis for a blanket variance for the tract, if the council approves the study. The developer and future buyers would be aware of any lots in which a height variance would cause view obstructions, she added.

Citizens Coalition president Zemel said his group supports the study and will accept its conclusions.

But for other neighbors the problem is more philosophical: The Anaheim Hills and surrounding Santa Ana Canyon lands represent a dwindling scenic resource that should be protected, even if some homeowners must scale down their fairy-tale dream homes.

They are concerned about the pace of development in the area encroaching on views that on a clear day take in mountain peaks to the north and Santa Catalina Island to the west. Depending on the property and its location, such vistas can add from $5,000 to $25,000 to the value of a home, said Susan Medart, a local real estate agent.

Many residents said the city should not abandon guidelines set for the area just to accommodate architectural designs.

“We thought we had a unique opportunity to develop and preserve the beauty and integrity of the area,� said Roland Krueger, an original member of a task force established in the early 1970s to study growth in the Santa Ana Canyon area.

“We envisioned developments designed to the natural contours of the hills and limited heights so building wouldn’t be so intrusive. But over the years all those objectives have gone down the tubes.

“Now they want to build homes the equivalent size of two- or three-story Holiday Inns.�