Two more years?

When the Irvine Co. closed Pelican Hill Road South in late January, officials knew it would be at least seven months before the road opened again.

Now, after months of detours, some people living in nearby subdivisions are balking at the prospect of having the road closed another two years or longer.

The Newport Beach City Council would have to agree to extend the temporary road closure, which it had approved only until Sept. 1. City officials will hold a meeting tonight to discuss the company’s request for a longer closure and hear residents’ concerns.

The Pelican Hill golf course opened around 1991, and the Irvine Co. in the past year began revamping the course and building a new clubhouse, hotel and private villas. That work is expected to last through 2008.

Pelican Hill Road is a loop that connects to Newport Coast Drive in two places that are 1.28 miles apart.

It should only take two minutes to travel that distance, but several residents of the Pelican Hill neighborhood said it’s a delay that can be stretched by traffic from other construction projects. They’re also worried about their safety if the road stays closed.

“I’ve already put up with enough inconvenience,” said Richard Demirjian, who lives in Pelican Hill. “I have to go out of my way — but I’m terrified of a fire.”

Demirjian saw the 1991 wildfire that swept through Oakland, and he said he’s afraid something like that could happen in Newport Coast. The canyon is dry, and the streets from several neighborhoods converge at one chokepoint, he said.

Newport Beach Assistant City Manager Dave Kiff said he understands residents’ annoyance at the closure, but the city has addressed the safety issue.

“It’s a requirement of the Irvine Company’s encroachment permit that they be able to pull those fences down momentarily if they needed to get emergency vehicles there,” he said.

Nancy Vanags, another Pelican Hill resident, said she’s not sure why a private entity is allowed to close a public road.

“I just don’t understand how any private citizen, the Irvine Co. included, could close it for this length of time, for their convenience,” she said.

City transportation and development services manager Rich Edmonston said the city thought it was safer to keep the residential traffic and construction trucks separate, and an Irvine Co. spokeswoman agreed.

“This is something that residents have told us they want,” Irvine Co. spokeswoman Jennifer Hieger said. “If the south entrance had stayed open, we’d be asking residents to drive back and forth through a construction site, which would probably take longer.”

While closing the road for two more years — as the Irvine Co. has requested — might be a hassle for residents, Kiff said, city officials will weigh that against safety concerns, the confusion of closing the road only during certain hours, and how much longer a partial closure might make the project.

A meeting is scheduled at 7 p.m. today in the Newport Beach City Council chambers, 3300 Newport Blvd. The City Council probably will discuss the issue Oct. 10.