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Irvine Co. to donate 20,000 acres to OC Parks
September 4th, 2009, 4:03 pm · 30 Comments · posted by Pat Brennan, science, environment editor
The Irvine Co. plans to donate 20,000 acres of rugged wild land in central county to OC Parks, one of the largest parkland transfers in county history and one that would increase OC Park’s holdings by 50 percent.
The transfer would include creation of a brand new park, Black Star Regional Park.
The OC Parks Commission will meet Sept. 12 to consider the transfer, but agency officials said in a statement Friday that, despite the state and the county’s economic troubles, they are “currently prepared to accept financial responsibility of these lands.”
After that, the transfer would likely be considered by the Orange County Board of Supervisors on Sept. 29.
“There’s a lot further to go in terms of specific language and all of that, but in general, I’m very supportive of this great step,” Orange County Supervisor Bill Campbell said Friday.
Several unconnected parcels would be transferred to county control, including parts of Limestone, Weir, Black Star, Fremont, Santiago and Gypsum canyons, as well as Loma Ridge and Laguna Laurel. The lands include some easements owned by the Nature Conservancy.
County parkland now amounts to about 39,000 acres, so the 20,000-acre addition would be a dramatic increase.
Part of the property will be used to create the new park, Blackstar Regional Park, covering about 2,000 acres with about 15 miles worth of trails.
“When we announced our decision to permanently protect these lands years ago, we made it very clear that utlimately they would be publicly owned — and that they be publicly owned with deed restrictions that ensure these lands will be protected forever,” said Irvine Co. spokesman John Christensen.
The land includes craggy hills and oak woodlands, and is home to mountain lions, bobcats, rattlesnakes, trapdoor spiders, raptors and a variety of other species. 
Parks officials would evaluate the parcels to determine which could be opened to the public for unrestricted access, said OC Parks director Mark Denny. Most of the property is now open only to docent-led access.
The new Black Star Regional Park would be among the areas that might be considered for more open access sooner rather than later, Denny said; the same is true for a portion of Limestone Canyon adjacent to the existing Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park.
County parks officials hope in general to provide broader public access, he said.
“We’re in the people business,” he said. “Our mission is to connect people with the land. That’s going to be a big focal point of it, but we need to make sure that we always respect the conservation values for protection of the land.”
But county approval must come first — a process that is just beginning, Denny said.
“I’ve been trying to think of football analogies,” he said. “It’s the kickoff season, we’re just starting; hopefully, we’ll get to the Superbowl later.”
(Photos of Limestone Canyon, mountain bikers in Limestone and Fremont Canyon courtesy Irvine Co.)
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Do you have a map of the donated lands?
BoogerBoy – most of the mentioned lands are accessible by Santiago Canyon Rd. Copy the link below to your browser…
http://www.bing.com/maps/#JnE9eXAub3JhbmdlJTJjK2NhJTdlc3N0LjAlN2VwZy4xJmJiPTUwLjk1ODQyNjcyMzM1OTklN2UtNzMuNjUyMzQzNzUlN2UxMi4yOTcwNjgyOTI4NTM4JTdlLTE2MS44OTQ1MzEyNQ==
Probably unusable land. If they could build houses on this land it would not have been donated.
Fonz – the very first sentence reads: “rugged wild land.” You must be from the east to not know what that means.
There’s no such thing as unusable land in coastal southern california, entitlements withstanding.
Why do we need an Irvine Great Park again? Man made canyon? What were we thinking when we voted for that?
Fonz – These areas are intrinsically unbuildable. Also unfarmable and only marginally grazeable. No doubt you are unfamiliar with the OC back country. I suggest you start with a map.
A transfer to OC Parks would be nice. Too bad it will proceed at the Glacial pace of Government. Indeterminable hearings, panels, studies, “outreach”, etc. etc. etc., blah blah blah., ad nauseum.
Basically it’s just garden-variety chapparal, like the rest of the Santa Ana mountains. It would be nice to see some of those areas. But I won’t be holding my breath.
You’re wrong about this area being “garden variety.” I have taken a guided biking tour through these areas a few years back and some of the canyons there are decidedly more beautiful than much of the surrounding land which is already public.
i agree with the fonz.. that and they’re probably tired of damages, since the areas to be donated are so prone to wild fires. might as well kiss it off the county. the irvine company isn’t dumb. there’s a real reason behind it.
They already got a big piece of land that used to be part of Irvine Park that will allow the Irvine Co. to build a bunch of homes at Santiago and Jamboree. This land they want to donate is 4-wheel rugged and inaccessible. Nuff said.
Yep….it’s called unrestricted Development and Construction…. The Irvine Company does absolutely nothing out of the goodness of their heart…on the contrary, this wouild be considered a mere loss of penny on a hundred dollars to what they will be getting in return. The Irvine Company ‘Dumped’ un-usealbe land for their purposes and it’s only a matter of time what the BOS and surrounding cities will be GIVING them in return…by the way the end result will be lots of cash for the Irvine Company and their Shareholders.
too bad 241 runs right thru the open land…
The Irvine Company must have known it was unbuildable when they bought it. They probably purchased a huge parcel of land, some buildable and some not. It makes the land around it more valuable for homes if there are parks nearby.
I think it’s a win-win.
JIm Irvine bought this land over 100 years ago. I highly doubt he was envisioning 4500 sq. ft. McMansions on Loma Ridge. He was mostly looking for a place to graze cattle, so far as I can tell.
It was aquired in the 1860s by James Irvine along with the rest of the ranch from those affected by the drought back in the 1860s that pretty much put a period at the end of the Californio’s influence in CA – they were mortgaged to the hilt, huge intrest rates owed to the easterners who came out here. They did not realize they could pump water out of the ground, did not have the knowledge – plus a antiquated deed of trust system that put all the land titles in question. James was at the right place at the right time…..
This is all fine and DANDY what do they want in return for this gift? HA
So much for Irvine Co.’s plan to build houses along Irvine like. They even constructed the 241 to open up that area.
Things change. I guess if they develop that area, there would be not enough people to live there.
Love the park idea. Can’t wait to get lost out there.
For God’s sake, keep it out of the hands of the City of Irvine. Larry Agran would use it to give jobs and steer no-bid contracts to cronies, nothing would ever get built, and Irvine would be in an even bigger hole than it is now with the Great Park.
This part of the Orange County is in the sphere of influence of the City of Orange, not Irvine. The development that was to be around Irvine Lake would become part of the city of Orange if it was built, just like Santiago Hills development.
Despite the negative comments already posted, the donation of 20,000 acres of wilderness is a great gift to the people of Orange County. The key now is how will the County care for it. Will it provide good stewardship blending public access in areas that can withstand mountain bikes and lots of people with protected areas to permit wildlife to survive? Will the County dedicate sufficient money to maintain trails, eradicate noxious weeds, and hire rangers to oversee this important open space?
This is a huge opportuntiy, but only if we make good use of it.
CanyonNative
Agreed. This is a huge opportunity. It is difficult to tell what this additional land has to offer, unless one has already explored every nook and cranny. With some of the areas that I’ve seen and explored through the fire roads, this seems like great news; more of the local outdoors to explore! We need it being that we are so confined in this county. But the process to steward this land well is key, if it is opened to the public.
I agree with Ann. This is some of the most beautiful untouched scenery left in Orange County. Plants, animals, and unbelievable views galore. I’d love to be able to get out to explore Limestone canyon and some of the other areas without having to worry about being chased out by the Irvine Company cops. And there are in fact plans to build several thousand homes in some of these areas, and moreover, there is buildable land for 10′s of thousands more. No infrastructure, lots of protestors, and few buyers right now, but plenty of rolling hills and valleys in addition to the rugged mountains. This is an absolutely wonderful thing, if it can happen. But I too am interested to learn what the Irvine Company will be asking from the County in return, and whether the county can afford to accept it. (The property tax would be considerable.)
A large land donation of this area that dovetails into other parks would be a huge asset to this county. I think that people should travel around other metropolis’ and realize that the Irvine Company has done amazing things to keep lots of greenbelts and parks, lakes and equestrian areas accessible to growing populations. If the IC were really as irresponsible as everyone makes them out to be, there would be much less land available for everyone. I’m thankful for the gift if it is, indeed, an allotment for public use and is managed responsibly.
If the map is correct, and I hope it is, then it looks as if the Irvine Co no longer has plans for developing their land around Irvine Lake and on both sides of Santiago Canyon. I have lived in Silverado since 1990 and know the area pretty well. I know in the late 1980s the Irvine Co. planed a massive development – city – around the lake with roads connecting to Irvine, Civic Center, shopping centers and 10 of thousands of homes – then the bust… and the project was scaled down a great deal. In the early 2000s a modified plan was in place around the lake and on both sides of Santiago right up to the Red Cliffs seen from the junctions of Silverado/Black Star and Santiago Canyons. The Irvine Ranch removed their cattle grazing in the 1990s and tore down an old ranch house along the road that was to connect with Jeffery Rd. in Irvine. Everyone in the Canyons are quite aware of what an impact this would have been, changing the face of the area for ever. So Mr. Don Bren gets a huge tax break, good for him! Hopefully we get the open land forever! We moved to the Canyons to get away from urban sprall. It is easy to bash the Irvine Co., but seriously folks – they managed the land pretty well (it IS a business!) and gave OC thousands of acres of open space. The ranch has been around since 1864, before track homes and super malls, etc. and despite what some say, they have done a great job developing their land – perhaps not to some people’s tasts – I for one would never live in a track home or community behind a gate or otherwise. For me, I am jazzed if this comes to pass…!
The Weir, Gypsum and Blackstar areas should be given to USFS. Then you could still access the land in darkness, take your dogs, MTB ride and even hunt.
If turned over to OC Parks you wouldn’t be able to do any of that other than some MTB.
And, yeah good ole’ James I was just buying land for cattle and farming – no way he thought of what Bren would do.
And the big no brainer is that the Irvine Co does nothing out of the goodness of their (Bren’s) heart.
Wow, what a bunch of uninformed comments.
First, look at the photos: the land is beautiful.
Second, as far as fire hazard is concerned: every square inch of OC is a fire hazard unless it’s paved over. Isn’t it preferable to have some open space left that’s not developed, even if it has chapparal that might burn?
Third, concerning the land being “unusable”: a development of several thousand homes has been approved IN THE MIDDLE of this land to be donated, proving it is anything BUT unbuildable.
Fourth, in response to “It is difficult to tell what this additional land has to offer”: public tours have been offered on this land on an almost daily basis for more than ten years, the public has had, and continues to have, excellent access to the property.
Fifth, OC taxpayers will spend no money acquiring this land, it will be donated free of charge. What exactly do you think 20,000 acres of land in OC is worth? A lot more than any previous donation ever received in the history of OC.
Just be happy with it; we will all own it and existing conservation easements and NCCP restrictions will keep it from ever being developed.
Mike
By the way, thanks Pat Brennan for the excellent article, it is your usual outstanding reporting.
Mike
Wow! 20,000 of protected land would be great. Much of that land had already been scheduled for development. (I had even seen print ads in the programs at the Performing Arts Center at one time.)
But, there always seems to be a quid pro quo…. I wonder what the rest of the story will be…
Some of this was land the Irvine Co. had offered in trade to develop the El Toro AIrbase years ago. Now the Great Park has gotten smaller and smaller, and the land is being donated…
I just hope the donation goes through.
First, look at the photos: the land is beautiful.
Second, as far as fire hazard is concerned: every square inch of OC is a fire hazard unless it’s paved over. Isn’t it preferable to have some open space left that’s not developed, even if it has chapparal that might burn?
Third, concerning the land being “unusable”: a development of several thousand homes has been approved IN THE MIDDLE of this land to be donated, proving it is anything BUT unbuildable.
Fourth, in response to “It is difficult to tell what this additional land has to offer”: public tours have been offered on this land on an almost daily basis for more than ten years, the public has had, and continues to have, excellent access to the property.
Fifth, OC taxpayers will spend no money acquiring this land, it will be donated free of charge. What exactly do you think 20,000 acres of land in OC is worth? A lot more than any previous donation ever received in the history of OC.
Just be happy with it; we will all own it and existing conservation easements and NCCP restrictions will keep it from ever being developed.
Thanks once again Pat Brennan, your environmental writing is excellent as usual.
Mike
Slverado, it’s nice to finally read a voice of reason.
So many spoiled brats commenting about the Irvine Company. They as developer/Land owners have no obligation to donate anything to Orange County, yet they continue to do so. They have donated many more thousands of acres strictly for public use and to never be developed than they have actually developed.
Complain all you want about the “big developer” Irvine Company, but they do things first class and top notch. I really think they have made Orange County a much better place for us all to live.
Pack up and move to Alaska if you’re not happy about things. Look for your Starbucks in the middle of nowhere.