TO: CITY MANAGER, CITY OF IRVINE

FROM: DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC PROGRAMS

SUBJECT: COMMITMENT TO OPEN SPACE
 

During the July 17, 2001, "Which Way L.A.?" radio broadcast, Ms. Barbara Lichman commented that the Orange County Central Park and Nature Preserve Initiative does not guarantee that land will be preserved as open space. Ms. Lichman was not correct.

The drafters of the initiative have highlighted proposed additions to the Orange County General Plan with bold text and shown language to be removed with strikeouts. In order to provide context, the drafters have included wording from the existing Orange County General Plan to help the reader understand the changes being proposed. Ms. Lichman’s comment referred to existing wording in the County’s General Plan which states that "Areas identified as Open Space (5) are not necessarily committed to permanent open space uses."

In the initiative, following the text to which Ms. Lichman referred, is the County’s definition of Open Space Reserve (OSR). The OSR overlay "identifies major parks, beaches, forests, harbors and other territory that will always remain open space" (emphasis added). Exhibit 10 of the initiative shows that the majority of the base will be covered by the OSR overlay, effectively committing that land to open space.

The initiative also creates two new overlays in the County’s General Plan. The Nature Preserve (NP) overlay applies to the natural habitat that will be preserved in accordance with the Central/Coastal Orange County Natural Communities Conservation Plan. The Education/Park Compatible overlay allows educational facilities and supporting research and development and cultural and recreational uses, compatible with adjacent Open Space Reserve (OSR) land uses.

In conclusion, it is clear that the Orange County Central Park and Nature Preserve Initiative intends to commit the County of Orange to long-term open space uses at the former MCAS El Toro.

If you have any additional questions regarding this matter, please contact me at 724- 6424. Also, please note that this information has been shared with ETRPA to avoid confusion regarding the language as well as the intent of the initiative.

DAN JUNG

Director of Strategic Programs