Sweet Orange

Previously, I wrote about the Irvine Ranch land that was designated as a National Natural Landmark and, more recently, designated as a California National Landmark. So you might think that this designation would prevent development on this land. Not true!  The designation of an area as a Natural Landmark does not prevent the area from being developed. The landowners can still make this call, as long as they comply with any zoning requirements and legal agreements that are already attached to the land. However, landowners have been successful in having zoning requirements changed, and the Natural Landmark designation does not put any binding legal agreements on the landowners.

The owners of the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmark land are the County of Orange, City of Irvine, The Irvine Company, California Department of Fish and Game, California Department of Parks and Recreation, City of Laguna Beach, General Services Administration, and the City of Newport Beach.

As I mentioned in my previous post, a look at the locations that are included in the Irvine Ranch National Natural Landmark (such as the Anaheim Wilderness Area, Weir Canyon, Santiago Canyon, and Crystal Cove State Park) as well as the activities available at these locations is available by clicking here. A look at an Irvine Company YouTube video of the Irvine Ranch Natural Landmark, is available by clicking here. A map of that shows the 93,000-acre Irvine Ranch, 50,000 Irvine Ranch reserve, and 40,000-acre Irvine Ranch Natural Landmark is provided above.

Next week: A look at more housing numbers for Irvine neighborhoods

Map Courtesy the Irvine Company, LA Times, and OC Liberal