Pacific Bay Seeks County OK for 618 Homes in Portola Hills

Pacific Bay Homes, an Irvine-based home building unit of Ford Motor Co., is seeking county approval to build 618 homes on Portola Hills land that James and Alfred Baldwin’s Village Development lost in foreclosure.

The land currently is zoned for a business park because of its noisy location under the flight path of the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. But with the military leaving the area in a couple of years and a commercial airport proposed, the builder is trying to overturn a county noise policy and push for residential entitlements.

The new neighborhood would be one of the largest developed in the area in years, expanding the size of the Portola Hills community by more than 30%. Some residents are upset over possible traffic congestion. They are also concerned that the already overcrowded Portola Hills Elementary School would be filled to overflowing.

Diana Hoard, a planning consultant for Pacific Bay Homes, said the company already has agreed to pay the Saddleback Unified School District to build more classrooms. But residents say there are no guarantees how this money will be spent. Homes “will go up and our quality of life will go down,” said resident Victor Pinsker. No school district officials or Pacific Bay executives could be reached for comment.

The project is scheduled to go to the planning commission for a recommendation next month and then to the Board of Supervisors for a vote, said Romi Archer, a county planner. In a document filed with the county, Pacific Bay said it will begin grading the site this summer for a four-year development beginning with 150 homes.

Pacific Bay controls more than 18,000 home lots nationwide. Most, including the Portola Hills site, were acquired from First Nationwide Bank, a former lending unit of Ford.

Melinda Fulmer covers real estate for The Times. She can be reached at (714) 966-7832.