Inter-Canyon League
  • Home
  • Calendar
  • Our Canyons
    • Staying Alive in the Canyons
  • Documents
    • Bylaws and Other ICL Documents
    • Cal Fire Plan
    • Plans and Reports
    • ICL Meeting Documents >
      • Documents for 2023
      • Documents for 2022
      • Documents for 2021
      • Documents for 2020
      • Documents for 2019
      • Documents for 2018
      • Documents for 2017
      • Documents for 2016
  • Committees
    • Canyon Watch
    • History Committee
    • Land Use Committee
    • Library Committee
  • About ICL
    • Meetings, Membership & The Board
    • Contacts, Dues, Info & Signup
    • Forms
    • ICL Policies
  • Videos
    • ICL Videos

► The Sil-Mod Specific Plan ◄

The Silverado-Modjeska Specific Plan is a county document passed by resolution of the Orange County Board of Supervisors in 1977. It is among the oldest of the county's specific plans, and is a companion document to Orange County's general plan.

The Sil-Mod Specific Plan is available for viewing at the right. Or you can download the plan and map by clicking the "Download File" links just below.

The Sil-Mod Specific Plan was derived from a comprehensive study and EIR called the Sil-Mod Community Plan, which is also available for download in the next section.
Sil-Mod Specific Plan
File Size: 177 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Sil-Mod Plan Area Map
File Size: 2750 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Picture
​The Sil-Mod plan governs development in the areas generally between and including Silverado and Modjeska Canyons. The actual contours of the plan area follow the natural watershed boundaries, shown in the downloadable area map.

​
The main purpose for creating the Sil-Mod Specific Plan was to provide a legal framework to protect the area from inappropriate development and urban sprawl, whilst still allowing for reasonable development.

► The Sil-Mod Plan Is Enforceable ◄

The email at the right was received from 3rd district supervisor Todd Spitzer on October 27th, 2016.

It was in response to a legal opinion funded and submitted by the ICL and other canyon groups. It was written by respected local land-use attorney John G. McClendon. The memo affirms the legal enforceability of the Sil-Mod Specific Plan.

You can download the McClendon legal opinion using the link below.
McClendon Legal Opinion on Sil-Mod Plan
File Size: 153 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Sup. Spitzer's directive to OCPW.
Thank you for your recent email to me regarding the questions raised in the legal opinion from John G. McClendon (June 21, 2016)  related to validity of the Silverado-Modjeska Specific Plan (Sil-Mod Plan). I am writing in response to your request for me to direct County staff to comply with and enforce the Sil- Mod Plan.

In April, I spoke at the Inter-Canyon League (ICL) to help answer community questions related to updating and upholding specific plans in addition to other canyon issues. I attended in the spirit of providing the community access to the County by bringing representatives who provide services to the Canyon to help answer questions.

I apologize that the characterization of the Sil-Mod Plan that was shared during the ICL meeting was found offensive by the community volunteers who helped craft the Sil-Mod Plan and to those who want it enforced.

Please rest assured that while the Sil-Mod Plan was adopted by the Board of Supervisors by Resolution in 1977, the County’s recent interpretation of the zoning for the Sil-Mod area does not render the Sil-Mod Plan invalid, or “not binding”. The Sil-Mod Plan may be interpreted by the Board and must be read in conjunction with the underlying zoning and the uses of land permitted under that zoning. The Sil-Mod Plan contains legally enforceable policies and guidelines.
 
It is important to me as the Third District Supervisor to protect the natural beauty and resources in the Canyons. That is why, I have instructed County staff to comply with and enforce the Silverado-Modjeska plan and its conditions.
​
<...> 3rd District Supervisor Todd Spitzer

► The Sil-Mod Community Plan ◄

We have the community plan study available in several PDF formats. All have been scanned, OCR-ed and PDF bookmarks added to make them fully searchable. (No attempts have been made to proofread, correct, annotate or manually alter the converted PDFs other than to make them readable.)
The Sil-Mod plan above is a short, 11 page document that formalizes requirements derived from a consulting study conducted in the mid-1970s called the Sil-Mod Community Plan.

The Sil-Mod Community Plan is over 200 pages long and contains detailed study evaluations, maps, tables, forecasts and an environmental impact report.

One of the first such plans in Orange County, the Sil-Mod Community Plan was conducted at a cost of $35,000. Later plans, such as the neighboring Foothill-Trabuco Specific Plan study, would run to costs of over a million dollars.

At the time of the Sil-Mod plan, Orange County still had a vibrant agriculture base. Orange groves and strawberry fields were prevalant. The new, master-planned community of Irvine was just a few years into existence.

In that context it is of note that Orange County's third district supervisor and county board chairman at the time was Ralph A. Diedrich. Not long after the Sil-Mod plan was adopted, Diedrich (often dubbed "Super D"), was convicted on three counts of bribery and consipiracy for voting to approve an Anaheim developer's rezoning application to convert 2.200 acres of farmland for apartments.

Thanks to ICL's very own Judy Myers, co-chair of that original Sil-Mod committee, we are able to provide the complete Sil-Mod Community Plan - coffee stains and all - for viewing and download here.
Picture
​►Plan Document 8.5x11 High-Res, No Big Maps, 10MB
This is the plan at high resolution. The large foldout maps are not in this, but can be downloaded separately below. Or the complete download below that includes these maps. All pages are 8.5" x 11" portrait, so this is suitable for printing.
Picture
​►Plan Document 8.5x11 High-Res, No Big Maps, 10MB
This is the plan at high resolution. The large foldout maps are not in this, but can be downloaded separately below. Or the complete download below that includes these maps. All pages are 8.5" x 11" portrait, so this is suitable for printing.
Sil-Mod Community Plan, High-Res, No Big Maps
File Size: 10727 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Picture
►Plan Document: 8.5x11 Lower-Resolution, No Big Maps, 3MB
This is the complete plan document as above, but it has been compressed to a lower resolution that reduces its size about 70%. The text and image quality is correspondingly less.
Sil-Mod Community Plan, Low-Res, No Big Maps
File Size: 3673 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Picture
►Plan Foldout Maps, 8MB
These are the four, large fold-out maps that are omitted in the downloads above.
• Two concept maps for the Santiago Corridor. These go at the start of Sec. 6.3.
• A land use map that comes after page 44.
• A community plan summary map that comes after page 58
Community Plan - Large Maps
File Size: 8461 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

Picture
►Complete Plan Document, 18MB
This is the entire Sil-Mod Community Plan, including the large-format maps. Landscape-formatted pages with tables have been rotated for viewing. This is the best download for viewing the report, but it may be more difficult to print. It is also the largest download.
Community Plan Complete
File Size: 19137 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File


► Foothill Corridor Policy Plan (1974) ◄

Picture
The Foothill Corridor Policy Plan was the initial study conducted in 1974 across the entire eastern region from Irvine Regional Park, south through Coto De Caza. It covered a large area of 120 square miles. It was privately funded by citizens and landholders of the area it covered.

The Corridor Plan provided interim planning guidance to the county, and it proposed the framework for the formation of various community-specific studies. One of those studies was the Sil-Mod Community Plan above.

This download is approximately 18MB. The text pages are 8.5"x11", but there are a number of fold-out maps.
Foothill Corridor Policy Plan
File Size: 13769 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File


► Modjeska Canyon/Grade Road Traffic Study 2010 ◄

Modjeska Traffic Study 2010
File Size: 156 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

The Inter-Canyon League
PO Box 301 Silverado, CA 92676
CA Non-Profit: C1157619 • Federal TIN: 95-3787669
For general ICL information, email to intercanyonleague@gmail.com
​For our privacy policy please click here
Copyright © 2015-2021 Inter-Canyon League • All Rights Reserved