Yorba Linda Gives Builder Go-Ahead for 873 Homes

Toll Bros. Inc., the big East Coast home builder, won approval from the Yorba Linda City Council this week to develop 873 homes on oil company land near Chino Hills State Park.

In a 3-2 vote, the council approved the builder’s tract map for the 300-acre area, removing the last hurdle for a project that has long been fought by nearby residents.

“This is a big moment--it’s the culmination of seven years of planning,” said Jim Boyd, Toll Bros.’ vice president in charge of California operations.

Toll plans to develop the land as part of a joint venture with Aera Energy LLC, which is owned by the Royal Dutch Shell and Mobil oil companies. The builder plans to put up 260 homes--priced from $400,000 to more than $600,000--for sale beginning in mid-2000.

Toll expects revenue of more than $135 million from those sales.

The three companies plan to sell the remaining 613 lots to other builders. Revenue from the sale of those sites is expected to exceed $100 million.

The tract map approved by the council calls for a total of 2,100 homes--including the 873--to be built over the next 20 years on 843 acres Aera owns. Toll is working on development of the first 300 acres; some of the remaining land still is producing oil.