Noodle maker beats appeal to expand ramen plant in Irvine

Development opponents in California often bring CEQA appeals, but a noodle maker in Irvine beat one on the legal question of “standing.”

Maruchan, maker of a popular brand of ramen fast-cook noodles, was approved by the City Council to add a 227,400-square-foot industrial building to its 400,800-square-foot plant at 15800 Laguna Canyon Road, in the Irvine Spectrum, the Orange County Business Journal reported. 

The decision put the kibosh on an appeal filed by Supporters Alliance for Environmental Responsibility, a Covina-based advocacy group tied to the laborer’s union. 

SAFER, in its protest filing, argued the City of Irvine didn’t conduct a sufficient analysis of the project under the California Environmental Quality Act. Irvine staff said the appeal lacked merit.

Specifically, the staff report stated that “the appellant does not have standing to appeal the associated conditional use permit modification because SAFER is neither the applicant nor an owner or resident of property within 500 feet of the project site.”

The Maruchan factory cranks out the noodles, and apparently needs space for more.

The unit of Tokyo-based Toyo Suisan Kaisha currently has six production lines at the Irvine facility, with 482 employees working two shifts, 223 during the day and 182 at night, according to the Business Journal.

The company applied to add 227,400 square feet more space for three new production lines and 191 more employees, 103 during by day and 88 at night.

The new building would include light manufacturing, warehousing and auxiliary offices. It would also include new driveways, loading docks and equipment.

Maruchan was launched in Los Angeles in 1972 to market instant noodles from Japan, then began manufacturing them five years later, according to a company report. It now has four plants across the U.S.

The 5,000-acre Irvine Spectrum is one of the two major business centers in Irvine, according to the city. It includes 38 million square feet of commercial space, and 3,500 companies that employ nearly 80,000 people. 

The city’s Irvine Spectrum Center, the city’s major retail center, has 1.2 million square feet of shops and restaurants containing more than 130 businesses.

— Dana Bartholomew

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