Others say the project will compromise the bluff, which is visible from Newport Harbor.
“I care about it because I care about the bluff,” said Corona del Mar resident Jinx Hansen, who has lived in the neighborhood for the past 12 years. “I’ve seen in Corona del Mar more and more frequently, people applying for bigger set backs and variances — I’ve just seen the character of the neighborhood change. When they start messing with the bluff, it’s one of the few coastal land forms we have left.”
Hansen and others are concerned the project will excavate a large chunk of the bluff and change the landscape of the neighborhood.
“If there is any bluff left, you’re not going to see it. You’re going to look at massive building,” she said.
Corona del Mar resident Melinda McCallum said she’s concerned about the effect construction of the condominiums will have on her neighborhood, and the truckloads of dirt from excavation that might have to be hauled past her house.
“I worry about the impact on the community,” McCallum said. “It’s quite a large project, and where are they going to stage all of these workers and trucks?”
Land developer Richard Julian has had dreams of turning a 60-year-old apartment building and house on Carnation Avenue into a luxury condominium complex called the Aerie since he bought the property seven years ago.
The project has since run into a maze of governmental hearings, environmental documentation and feuds with some of the neighbors who oppose the development.
“I’m a bit frustrated with some of the things that have been said, because they are not accurate, but more beyond that some of the things have gotten a bit personal,” Julian said.
