Hearing on Developing S. County Ranchland
Orange County officials will seek public comment tonight at a hearing on Rancho Mission Viejo Co.’s land holdings in South County.
About 25,000 acres of the ranch are used for grazing, agriculture and mineral extraction, but the landowners are considering a plan to develop part of the 119-year-old ranch.
The county is seeking public input on a Natural Communities Conservation Plan that allows developers to set aside large chunks of land in exchange for approval to build on sensitive habitat elsewhere.
Activists say the meeting is the first step in a crucial process to determine “the fate of Orange County’s last wilderness . . . and of the finest expanse of coastal sage scrub in the United States,” wrote Dan Silver, coordinator of the Endangered Habitats League.
The meeting will held at 6 p.m. in the San Juan Capistrano Community Center, 25925 Camino del Avion.
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