Bonita Canyon Zone Change Approved
The City Council has approved a zoning change for the 1,000-acre Bonita Canyon Village residential and commercial development.
The Irvine Co. development, bordered by MacArthur Boulevard and the San Joaquin Hills tollway, is to include 2,800 homes, 55,000 square feet of commercial development, and public and private parks.
Plans also call for a Buffalo Ranch historic site near Ford Road and MacArthur Boulevard, plus a “historic tribute” to architect William Pereira, who drew the first plans for the city and UC Irvine.
Though some residents fought to preserve the Buffalo Ranch buildings and silo that housed Pereira’s offices, all but two were demolished.
Some of the farm buildings dated back to the early 1930s, Irvine historian Judy Liebeck said.
The silo building and a two-story barn were moved to the Orange County Fairgrounds in December 1994.
Fair officials have preserved only the top portion of the silo building. The barn was given to a Newport Beach resident who is restoring it on private property.
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