City to Have Its Say on Bommer Canyon Plan

City leaders already fighting to keep a commercial airport and maximum-security prison out of Irvine are now trying to prevent the county from building recreational facilities in pristine Bommer Canyon.

The county is proposing a conference center, parking lot, picnic area, restrooms and equestrian staging grounds in the canyon as part of an expansion of Laguna Coast Wilderness Park.

City leaders argue that because Irvine owns part of the canyon, the county cannot build without their consent. The issue is on the agenda for the City Council’s 5:30 p.m. meeting today.

Irvine owns a 15-acre parcel that was formerly a cattle camp. The rest of the canyon is part of the new nature reserve established under an open-space agreement between the county and the Irvine Co.

Plans call for greenbelt areas in several cities to be merged to create 10,000 acres of open space, the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, stretching from Pacific Coast Highway in Laguna Beach to William R. Mason Regional Park in Irvine.

Denton Turner, design manager for Orange County’s Harbors, Beaches and Parks Department, said county officials thought it would be in the best interest of park users to treat the open space as one entity.

“Open space and habitat just don’t recognize the artificial boundaries created by someone behind a desk in an office,” Turner said.

But council members said they were shocked to learn from the city’s staff in September that the county plans to transform the canyon into a recreational area.

“Bommer Canyon belongs to us. The county is not going to put anything there without our say-so,” Mayor Mike Ward said.

Turner said the county does not want to proceed if the city is opposed.

The plans “are recommendations, and recommendations only,” he said. “The city of Irvine is fully free to say no”