City Fields Irvine Co. Offer

On the heels of unveiling plans to develop its land in east Orange, The Irvine Co. announced Tuesday that it intends to donate 190 acres for a youth campground that would be managed by the Boy Scouts of America. The camp would adjacent to Irvine Regional Park.

The announcement came the same day that the developer presented the Orange City Council with the first details of the proposed 4,000-home development, which needs council approval.

Officials from both the City Council and The Irvine Co. were quick to say that the donation for the campground and the development proposal are not related. The donation, they said, is part of Irvine Co. owner Donald Bren’s emerging vision for the area.

There is no quid pro quo, said Councilwoman Carolyn V. Cavecche. “There is no one on the council that is going to look at the donation of this land for a wilderness park [in exchange for] the development of east Orange,” she said. “That’s not how I do business.”

The Irvine Co.’s 4,000-home plan is a reduced version of a 12,000-home proposal approved by a previous council in 1989.

The amended plan presented Friday is expected to be in the approval process for at least a year.

The campground donation will be on a similar timetable. The entitlement process will last about a year, after which The Irvine Co. will hand the land over to Orange County.

The county, in turn, would offer an extended lease to the Scouts for a nominal fee, “probably a dollar a year,” said Supervisor Bill Campbell.

The Scouts would be responsible for building campground facilities, at a cost of several million dollars, said Russell D. Etzenhouser, director of camping for the organization in Orange County.

“The money will come from private donations,” he said.

Once construction is completed, the Scouts would make the grounds available to other Orange County youth organizations but not to the general public.

No more long drives to San Diego or Riverside County to enjoy the great outdoors, said Orange Mayor Mark Murphy:

“Groups from the YMCA to local church organizations will be able to experience this tremendous outdoor adventure that will be so accessible and close to home.”