Barham Ranch Development

* Re “Preserve Barham Ranch,” the Jan. 2 editorial:

Although well-intentioned, your editorial misses the mark by failing to consider the acute need to preserve school sites for the children of our rapidly developing Eastside community.

During my eight years as both an Orange Unified school board member and a member of the facilities committee, the school district in its long-term planning has neither declared its joint property interest in the Barham Ranch excess to its needs nor offered the property for sale.

On two separate occasions within the last three years, the district has made serious good-faith offers to purchase the joint interest of the Serrano Water District to preserve this site for the development of schools.

Perhaps construction of desperately needed schools that share the property with open areas is the best answer in balancing the legitimate interests of the community for parks and open space and satisfying the critical need for future classroom facilities for the children of our community.

R.H. VIVIANO

Board member

Orange Unified School District

* I am so encouraged by the progress that has been made thus far in support of the “Save Barham Ranch” campaign.

The public support has been truly inspiring. It is important that the members of the board of directors of the Serrano Water District and the Orange Unified School District, as elected representatives of the public, recognize that there is a bigger issue here than money.

They have an obligation to the public they represent, to hear and act on the people’s will and to protect this precious resource.

I encourage these two boards to accept the county’s offer to purchase the Barham Ranch for public recreational open space.

JOHN R. COX

Orange

* Barham Ranch is a pristine parcel of land that is nestled between three county parks.

If the builder is permitted to put homes, streets and lights on the property, the ecosystem of the surrounding parks will be adversely impacted.

The current property owners, the Serrano Water District and the Orange Unified School District, need to take advantage of Orange County Supervisor Todd Spitzer’s fair offer to preserve the open space for future generations.

PATRICE CHRISTMAN

Orange

* Do your editorial writers talk to each other? Perhaps The Times suffers from the same growth schizophrenia as the rest of Orange County: We like it, but not near us!

In “Job-Rich, Housing-Poor,” on Jan. 2, The Times advocates fulfilling the vast demand for affordable homes near jobs so that companies don’t leave town and take their jobs and taxes with them.

Then right under that editorial is one headlined “Preserve Barham Ranch”--a proposed residential development in the city of Orange. The Times reports that the ranch “sits amid regional parks”--yet the accompanying picture clearly shows a horseback rider in the foreground with development in the background.

The issue is that one more urban tract of land is proposed to be taken out of the portfolio of potential residential development sites.

We’re not making any more of the stuff, and as developable land becomes scarce, land prices rise, and so do housing costs.

Maybe the proposed housing development at Barham Ranch wasn’t “affordable housing,” as the definition goes, but it would increase the available housing stock in Orange County and free up other homes for purchase by other families along the way.

One more park would be fine, I suppose, but ultimately we must make choices. In this country, we cannot have unlimited open space and affordable housing.

I choose providing for families, shorter commute times and the ability of my children to buy a home.

ELLEN McBRIDE

Orange

* I would like to commend The Times for its coverage of the Barham Ranch land struggle.

The county has presented both the water district and the school district with an excellent opportunity to end the struggle, end the lawsuits and benefit everyone.

CHRIS KOONTZ

Orange

* The editorial “Preserve Barham Ranch” was right on.

Barham Ranch must be preserved. The developer SunCal must not be allowed to plop homes down in the middle of our parkland.

The joint owners, the Serrano Water District and the Orange Unified School District, are both public entities and must be convinced to turn this land over to the public for the county’s fair market offering price so that all people may enjoy its untarnished wonders.

There are very few places where you can travel only minutes and be immersed in native habitat. The established recreational trails lead to majestic views and are already enjoyed by many. Even at a distance, the hills stand as a relief against the encroaching urban development.

I find it a travesty when I think about SunCal’s plans.

SunCal’s view of the future shows a multitude of new homes, built shoulder to shoulder, and an increase of new residents.

SunCal is working hard to sway the school board to sell out and offers in return the promise of a new school, the expansion of an existing one, and playing fields.

This is also an attempt to appease the public, but I say that is not enough. What about increased traffic, noise and pollution?

What about the loss of hundreds of acres of pristine wild land full of nature and wildlife? What about a housing development sitting like a scar in the middle of dedicated parkland that surrounds it?

Once the land is touched, it can never be put back. The beauty and uniqueness of Barham Ranch should be preserved for everyone, not traded for a developer’s dollar.

JULIE MAURER

Orange

* As a longtime Orange County resident, I see the vital need for our trails to be linked.

Wildlife and the growing county population need the links. Once the access is gone, it is gone for good.

We, as responsible residents, need to preserve as much of the open space and trail links as possible. It would be a mistake to allow Barham Ranch to fall to developers.

SANDI DUNN

Silverado

* Thank you for the editorial about Barham Ranch.

I think it is about time that we leave some undeveloped land that way.

We have built and built and will have nowhere to take our kids in the future to see nature. I hope the Orange Unified school board and the Serrano Water District will make a moral, not monetary, stand for what is right.

GREG KEMP

Yorba Linda