A shopping center at Mission Viejo’s Garden Plaza could be replaced with a supermarket and retail businesses topped by five stories of apartment units in a new project proposed by the property’s owners.

The 6.5-acre plaza and its several small business spaces at La Paz Road and Marguerite Parkway would be demolished and a 40,000-square-foot Whole Foods, other retail or restaurant spots and the 234 apartments would be built.

Irvine-based ValueRock Realty is proposing a mix of studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom units, with 5% set aside as affordable housing.

But the proposal first needs the City Council to change the zoning for the property from office professional to mixed use, a land-use designation that currently doesn’t exist in Mission Viejo’s laws. City leaders will decide soon whether to add a new mixed-use classification to the city’s code.

The potential zoning change and proposed project have sparked a furor among some residents, who say they are wary that establishing the new land use will encourage other similar developments, bringing more density to the south county city.

Also, they argue the already busy corner can’t handle added traffic from housing and shopping.

The residents, who have rallied on the corner and distributed lawn signs declaring “Stop the Monster,” are also circulating a petition in opposition to the new zoning designation.

Their message “is simply no additional zoning added,” said Carlos Pianelli, who has been organizing community members against the project.

“We want the current zoning as the office professional, which means only small businesses. That is our goal,” Pianelli said. “That’s the message

“And we don’t want Whole Foods there. We don’t even want an apartment,” he said. “All this creates traffic and other issues.”

The city’s Planning Commission will consider the developer’s zoning request later this month. If city officials approve the amendment to the city’s development code, the company would then ask that the new zoning be applied to their property, city officials said.

Representatives for ValueRock did not make a company official available for an interview, but said in a statement it “has been and continues to be in the planning process to redevelop the Garden Plaza site with much needed housing and retail options.

“We have held several meetings to listen to comments and will continue working with the city and the community to shape a project that will be sustainable and attainable for the future generations of Mission Viejo.”

On a website promoting the project, ValueRock said the development will include “a network of walking and biking trails,” along with a park on the corner of La Paz and Marguerite. The construction and operation of the project will bring economic benefits to the city, the site says, including millions of dollars in state and city tax revenue and more than a thousand jobs.

ValueRock still has to complete an environmental review of the project, which will consider impacts to the surrounding community from factors such as traffic, air quality and noise.

Those opposed to the project say the corner of La Paz and Marguerite is already heavily congested during some parts of the day, Pianelli calling it “probably the worst corner in Mission Viejo for traffic.” The new residences plus a likely busy shopping center on the corridor, which feeds to several surrounding schools, would further gridlock the roads, he said.

“If this is allowed, for an applicant to build in a high rise, it’s going to affect the entire area here,” Pianelli said.

Last month, the City Council voted to speed up the process for considering the land-use designation, so the Planning and Transportation Commission will consider that part on April 11, while the rest of the development application is processed for future public hearings on the project proposal.

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