NEWPORT BEACH : Residents Want City to Buy Canyon Land

Residents living near the intersection of MacArthur Boulevard and Ford Drive plan to ask the City Council today to consider buying open space in a nearby canyon to save the property from development.

Saying they would like to see the land turned into a park and expressing opposition to a housing development that is being discussed as a possible use for the site, the group, Committee for the Preservation of the Newport Hills Greenbelt, hopes the city will buy the land from the Irvine Co.

The city, however, says it cannot turn the property into a park because it is not designated as parkland in the city’s general plan. However, officials plan to ask the residents to consider buying the land and then possibly leasing it to the city as park space.

“If they do a little, and we do a little, maybe something will work,” City Manager Robert L. Wynn said.

Steve Bonn, a spokesman for the group, says members will consider the city’s proposal. He said, however, that the group is unsure residents can afford the property and will still request the original plan.