Banning Ranch plans unveiled tonight

A land developer plans to unveil revised plans tonight for housing, a hotel and shopping on Banning Ranch, one of the largest pieces of undeveloped privately held coastal land in Orange County, after meetings with area residents and environmentalists.

While the developer claims its plans will preserve about 50% of the land as open space, environmentalists want to see the entire area preserved, especially acoastal mesa that is part of the property, said Terry Welsh, chairman of the Sierra Club-sponsored Banning Ranch Park and Preserve Task Force.

“[The mesa] is one of the coveted or desired and special pieces of the land,” Welsh said. “It’s one of maybe five large coastal open spaces in the region that have not been developed.”

Environmentalists and residents will meet with land developers at 7 p.m. tonight at Newport Beach City Hall, 3300 Newport Blvd.

Plans scheduled to be discussed include preserving a coastal bluff, since area residents voiced concern homes on the bluff would block their view. Any building on the bluff would be set back to preserve the area, said Marice White, a spokeswoman for Newport Banning Ranch LLC, a group that represents the land owners. The land today is dotted with several oil wells that would be consolidated into two areas as part of the development and preservation plans, said Mike Mohler, a Newport Banning Ranch LLC representative.

“We have moved the development components back off of property lines and enlarged the footprint for open space and where we think the public parks would be,” Mohler said.

The Newport Beach City Council formed a committee earlier this year to appraise the more than 400-acre piece of land, but appraisal efforts are still in the planning stages, said Councilman Steve Rosansky, a member of the committee. Meanwhile, Newport Banning Ranch has gone ahead with its plans for development for the area. The group could submit detailed plans to the city for 1,375 homes, a 75-room upscale hotel and 75,000 square feet of retail space within a month, Mohler said.

Getting an accurate assessment of how much Banning Ranch is worth would be the first step in buying the land. The city hopes to secure funding from sources including private donations and bonds to preserve the area as parks and open space, but developers continue with their plans to build in the area.

About 53 acres of Banning Ranch lies within Newport’s city limits. Although the rest of the land is in the county’s jurisdiction, Newport Beach maintains a sphere of influence over the area, which stretches along the Santa Ana River and West Coast Highway.

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at [email protected].