EXPANDING REGIONAL PARKS

Long-range plans to double the amount of land devoted to regional parks are on the drawing board at the county Department of Harbors, Beaches and Parks. The department hopes to acquire 23 additional sites totaling an estimated 19,942 acres. If all the land is secured it will bring current park acreage--18,953.25 acres--to a total of 38,895.25 acres. That’s about 60 square miles, or roughly the combined size of the cities of Anaheim and Costa Mesa. Here’s the acreage breakdown for the various parks-to-be:

The number next to proposed park corresponds to the number on the map. After each entry is the estimated additional acres per park.

Site Estimated Additional Acreage 1. Los Alamitos Naval Air Station 1,000 2. Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station 600 3. Bolsa Chica Regional Park 130 4. Buck Gulley 325 5. Los Trancos Canyon 606 6. Laguna Laurel Regional Park 1,292 7. Sand Canyon Reservoir Regional Park 136 8. Laguna Canyon-Sycamore Hills 195 9. South Laguna-Ridgeline 300 10. Prima Deshecha Regional Park 750 11. Talega Valley Ecological Reserve 1,200 12. San Juan Canyon 700 13. Hot Springs Canyon 360 14. Potrero Los Pinos Regional Park 750 15. Upper Trabuco Canyon 1,200 16. O’Neill Regional Park Addition 493 17. El Toro Marine Corps Air Station 400 (canyon portion) 18. Limestone Canyon 5,360 19. Black Star Canyon 800 20. Peters Canyon 360 21. Weir Canyon 2,135 22. Villa Park Basin 400 23. Olinda Regional Park 450

PARK COSTS AND REVENUES A look at the 1988-89 cost-to-revenue figures for the state- and county-administered parks in the county shows a wide range of cost recovery. For example, Santiago Oaks Regional Park generates only about 9% of its operating cost while Mile Square Regional Park, using golf income, paid for itself and earned a 7.27% profit. Here’s how all the parks compared last year:

COUNTY REGIONAL PARKS

1988-89 1988-89 Net % Cost Revenue Expenditures Cost Recovery Carbon Canyon $112,544 $443,899 $331,355 25.4% Ronald W. Caspers 62,887 504,019 441,132 12.5 Ralph B. Clark 83,831 501,201 417,370 16.7 Craig 104,456 607,379 502,923 17.2 Featherly 227,527 576,659 349,132 39.5 Irvine 373,945 823,297 449,352 45.4 Laguna Niguel 132,849 454,290 321,441 29.2 William R. Mason 63,927 459,172 395,245 13.9 Mile Square 800,372 746,145 (54,227) 107.27 O’Neill 199,355 698,795 499,440 28.5 Santiago Oaks 23,162 262,832 239,670 8.81 Yorba 104,939 359,804 254,865 29.7 TOTAL $2,289,794 $6,437,492 $4,147,698 35.6%

STATE PARKS

1988-89 1988-89 Net % Cost Revenue Expenditures Cost Recovery Orange Coast District 2,570,089 4,201,156 1,631,067 61.2 Pendleton Coast District 2,239,000 2,601,500 362,500 86.1 TOTAL $4,809,089 $6,802,656 $1,993,567 70.7% PARKS SYSTEM TOTAL $7,098,883 $13,240,148 $6,141,265 53.6%

Source: Orange County Department of Harbors, Beaches and Parks