Renowned photographer offers Home Ranch project critique

Lolita Harper

COSTA MESA -- As Orange County’s population booms, its open space is

shrinking, and that has an award-winning photographer concerned about the

county’s future development -- including the city’s controversial Home

Ranch project.

In a lecture at the Newport Beach Central Library last week, Julius

Shulman focused much of his talk on the negative aspects of the Home

Ranch project, charging that the development was crowding too many

people, buildings and industries into a small space.

“Here’s the Segerstroms with all their millions and their fortune, and

they are proposing to put all these things together on one tiny piece of

land,” Shulman said. “Of all people, they could afford to leave things

more open. Why try to crowd everything all together?”

Paul Freeman, a spokesman for the proposed development, said he does

not agree with Shulman’s characterization of the project.

“Ninety acres is not a small chunk of land. It’s hardly accurate to

portray that people will be living on top of each other,” Freeman said.

The most recent Home Ranch plan calls for a 17-acre Ikea furniture

property, 791,500 square feet of office space, 252,648 square feet of

industrial space and 192 homes at the former Segerstrom lima bean farm

off the San Diego Freeway between Fairview Road and Harbor Boulevard.

Shulman, who celebrated his 91st birthday Oct. 10, said his lecture

was intended to encourage a healthy, physical environment. Although he is

a resident of Los Angeles, Shulman said he wants to warn people about

“how bad Orange County is getting.”

“To stress the responsibility people have to preserve the cherished

and very delicate environment in Orange County,” he said in a previous

interview. “We can’t allow indiscriminate development of land. Once the

land is used, it’s gone forever.”

He said it is a shame what developers have done to the once beautiful

landscape of Orange County. Shulman remembers the 1920s, when he and his

wife would drive down from Los Angeles in his old Chevrolet and go

sailing in Newport Beach. They used to drive down Harbor Boulevard

through the bean fields on their way to the bay.

Once he stopped to take a picture of the fields -- a picture he shared

with his captive audience during his lecture.

Now the land is in danger of being turned into a mecca of retail,

industrial, office and residential space, he said.

Freeman said the proposed use of the land is a reflection of community

input. He also noted the project is surrounded by much higher-density

buildings. As far as overall development in Orange County, Freeman said

C.J. Segerstrom & Sons has some of the most attractive products.

“I think our record compares favorably with anyone in Orange County

and development in general,” Freeman said.

The fields can’t stay undeveloped forever, Freeman added.

Shulman said he understands the land can’t stay bean fields but said

he doesn’t understand why at least part of the beauty of the land cannot

be preserved.

“Look, I’m not here to tell you not to develop, but you can make more

of a profit by more intelligent, open planning,” Shulman said.

The award-winning photographer contends property values would stay

high if developers would commit to preserving open space. By leaving the

land in its beautiful, natural state, it makes the area more desirable

and keeps people interested in living here, he said.

Shulman has documented Orange County’s natural beauty since the 1920s.

The photographer is also celebrated for documenting buildings designed by

Frank Lloyd Wright, Pierre Koenig, Richard Neutra and other noted artists

and architects.

Although he was never formally trained in photography, he was awarded

the Gold Medal for Architectural Photography by the American Institute of

Architecture in 1969. In 1980, he was awarded an honorary membership in

the institute.