11/28/2001 The Irvine Company To Protect Crucial Laguna Canyon Land Parcel As Permanent Open Space The Irvine Company will permanently protect as open space a crucial 173-acre parcel in Laguna Canyon, completing preservation of the canyon that has been the focus of a vigorous 11-year preservation effort involving the community and the company. Long described by preservationists as set in one of the last remaining undeveloped coastal canyons in Southern California, the parcel is at the headwaters of Laguna Canyon. It is a key linkage to the Irvine Ranch’s southern open space reserve on the city of Irvine’s southern boundary, as well as to the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park and Crystal Cove State Park. “This gift is the culmination of many years of good-faith discussions and efforts between The Irvine Company and the community,” said Donald Bren, chairman of The Irvine Company. “The preservation of this parcel is a significant achievement, assuring the protection forever of the final undeveloped link in Laguna Canyon and the magnificent open space system that surrounds it.” The land has been held by The Irvine Company for over 100 years and is a portion of the original Laguna Laurel development project, approved in 1988 by the County of Orange. In 1990, The Irvine Company granted options to acquire the original 2,150-acre project in five phases to Laguna Beach preservationists. Four of the five parcels were acquired, but the preservationists were unable to raise sufficient funds to acquire the last 173-acre parcel and the option to acquire it expired in 1995. The Irvine Company has since held the 173-acre parcel for investment. Initially, the parcel will be protected by a permanent conservation easement being donated to The Nature Conservancy, one of the nation’s premier environmental organizations dedicated to the preservation of native species and natural habitat. The Irvine Company also announced its commitment to convey the underlying fee title to the land over the next 10 years to an appropriate municipality or non-profit group. Permanent conservation easements are widely used by The Nature Conservancy and other groups to protect land in perpetuity for conservation, open space and educational uses. The Nature Conservancy of California has protected more than a million acres in the state and has an excellent track record managing natural areas. Under the conservation easements, The Irvine Company permanently relinquishes its development rights. The permanent conservation easements, which never expire and are irrevocable, will prevent development on the land in perpetuity. The Irvine Company will consult with The Nature Conservancy regarding any uses of the land for public infrastructure, such as fire roads and water tanks. The amount of acreage that can be used in these cases is minimal. The Nature Conservancy has been performing a stewardship role on the company-owned open space in the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve since 1992. In addition to managing much of the existing permanent open space lands, the conservancy has organized the popular public hiking, mountain biking and horseback riding tours through Limestone Canyon, Bommer Canyon in Irvine, and other scenic open space areas on the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve. “Donald Bren’s 1989 decision to join with the city of Laguna Beach and the environmental community to pursue preservation of the heart of Laguna Canyon was a milestone in our efforts and eventually led to the creation of Laguna Coast Wilderness Park,” said Michael Pinto, founder and president of the Laguna Canyon Foundation. “His gift to the community of the last undeveloped parcel is a dream come true and, in fact, is something none of us could have imagined. Thirty years ago we never thought we would have 17,000 acres of public open space in and around Laguna Canyon, let alone literally tens of thousands of additional acres throughout the Irvine Ranch that have been set aside as permanent open space, which is far more than we ever expected.” Today’s announcement follows a review and update of The Irvine Company’s Master Plan, which determined that open space is the best use of this land to assure the long-term quality of life for people in the community. The announcement was made at a gathering of community leaders celebrating the conservation milestone of permanently protecting more than half of the Irvine Ranch as open space, the commitment of additional lands as permanent open space in the northern sphere of the Irvine Ranch, and the $30 million Bren Stewardship Fund to support the long-term management, preservation and restoration of the natural resources on the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve, and to facilitate accelerated public access to the lands, where environmentally appropriate. (See accompanying news release.) The event was attended by more than 200 people who have been involved over the years with local open space issues, including leaders from community preservation groups; environmental organizations and local and regional government officials. |
