Isolation of Chino Hills Park, Threat to Wildlife Is Feared

When the state approved the purchase of 1,000 acres of wilderness in May to expand Chino Hills State Park, it was hailed by environmental groups as a significant step in efforts to preserve rare wildlife in the area.

The purchase of the Shell Oil Co. property for $6.5 million would expand Chino Hills State Park to about 12,000 acres, making it the largest open space in the North County.

But now, environmentalists fear that the state park may become isolated and that wildlife such as mountain lions, bobcats and deer may not survive because of proposed housing developments that threaten to cut off critical wildlife corridors.

Some developers are responding to the need to provide a buffer between residential development and the wilderness area.

In Brea, a developer has offered 89 acres of private land to be converted into a wilderness habitat that could provide access to Chino Hills State Park from Carbon Canyon Regional Park.

In addition, Santa Fe Energy Resources will set aside 61 more acres of its 277-acre property for a buffer, a park, a school, a museum and recreational facilities in an apparent effort to win over community support for its Olinda Heights project.

Santa Fe Energy Resources is proposing to build 1,380 homes, including units for low- and moderate-income families. But in several public workshops hosted by the city, community groups have expressed fear that the project will increase traffic and fail to provide enough open space.

Claire Schlotterbeck, president of Hills for Everyone, a community group advocating expansion of the Chino Hills State Park, said the project would intrude on wildlife.

“You’re asking for trouble if you build a lot of houses that close to a wilderness area,” Schlotterbeck said. She said her group stopped attending the public workshops “because I don’t think it’s worth my time.”

The project has yet to be submitted to the city. An environmental impact report is expected to be completed this fall, city officials said. But the city is trying to influence the project by soliciting ideas from the community through the public workshops, according to Jay Trevino, senior city planner.

“The last thing the developers want is to have a big fight on their hands,” Trevino said.

The Olinda Heights project is the first development in the city’s sphere of influence, a seven-square-mile area of privately owned land currently outside city jurisdiction but expected to be annexed in the future.

Two years ago, the city drafted a so-called vision document that spells out how the area would be developed.