Saving the Land, Paving the Land

* I am disappointed in the Nov. 7 article, “Saving Land to Pave Land,” which I think unfairly overlooked the important contributions being made by the O’Neill family and Rancho Mission Viejo Land Conservancy.

The O’Neill family has managed, through the years, to retain and protect a large portion of the original Rancho Mission Viejo. This has been a difficult task.

Even agricultural and open land is taxed. Maintaining large areas of open space is expensive. Inheritance tax on vast tracts of land can be high enough to force their sale.

Based on the “highest and best use” criterion, the O’Neill family will be unable to meet anticipated inheritance taxes and maintain ranch integrity. The obvious solution for the landowner becomes developing some of the land to help pay taxes on the rest, thus “paving land to save land.”

O’Neill Regional Park (235 acres) was donated outright to the public by the family. Since then, more than 2,000 acres has been added to O’Neill Park and Caspers Wilderness Park in exchange for development in other areas.

Rancho Mission Viejo Land Conservancy (1,200 acres) was set aside because biologists approached the family, requesting the protection of this spectacular wildlife habitat. The O’Neill family was not required to set the land aside--and the land was perfectly placed for development.

The O’Neill family provides a large annual stipend for the Rancho Mission Viejo Land Conservancy and assists with many services required by the reserve. Individual family members provide annual support at the highest levels and personally help with fund-raising for the reserve. The conservancy, in turn, provides a wealth of high-quality programs for the community.

LAURA COHEN

Executive Director

Rancho Mission Viejo

Land Conservancy

Mission Viejo