Environmentalists call it 'ridiculous,' vow to sue.
If the project is built out as envisioned, it would bring more than 16,000 new jobs to Irvine, although 2,200 farm workers would lose their employment. The rezoning consists of 604 acres of prime agricultural land north of the San Diego Freeway, east of Jeffrey Road, south of Trabuco Road and west of the closed El Toro Marine Corps Air Station on what is now unincorporated county land within Irvine's sphere of influence. Converting this much farmland into massive office space is ridiculous. They'll phase it in at a reasonable level so as to not disrupt their existing product. Over the past five years, all developers in Orange County combined have built, on average, 3.5 million square feet a year of office and light industrial space, said Jerry Holdner, vice president at Voit Commercial Brokerage.