A Question of Nonperformance

* Regarding the dispute over the Barham Ranch (Aug. 27):

C.L. Pharris Jr., president of the Serrano Water District board, stated his view of the legal action: “We’ve had a nonperforming piece of property for approximately 100 years and we wanted to make the best use of it for our rate payers.”

The Serrano Water District’s idea of the best use of the land is to sell its part of the Barham Ranch to a developer to build 600 homes.

The other owner of the land, the Orange Unified School District, is negotiating with a nonprofit organization, the Trust for Public Land, which has saved over 1 million acres of wilderness nationwide.

According to the article, the Barham Ranch “has long been a refuge for horseback riders, mountain bikers and hikers.” It is also surrounded by county parklands and is home to as many as two dozen rare and endangered bird species.

In this time of rapid urbanization and the “cementing over” of once productive farmland and open spaces, it is even more urgent to preserve those open areas which are still available to all of us.

The Barham Ranch is hardly a “nonperforming piece of property.”

CAROLE SPIVEY

Irvine