State officials hand off $8 million to preserve Banning Ranch as public park

The purchase of Banning Ranch remains within reach as conservationists received a ceremonial check representing $8 million Thursday from state officials to help purchase the 384-acre oil field.

The $8 million comes out of the state budget, which legislators secured in June to be put toward the purchase of the property. Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Laguna Beach) handed off the check to officials from the Banning Ranch Conservancy and the Trust for Public Land, accompanied by Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley and Costa Mesa Councilwoman Arlis Reynolds.

“Forever protecting Banning Ranch is a once-in-a-generation opportunity,” said Petrie-Norris in a statement. “This project will restore vital coastal wetlands, provide unparalleled coastal access for surrounding underserved communities and preserve this jewel for all Southern Californians to enjoy.”

Paolo Perrone, project manager for Southern California region of the Trust for Public Land, said the $8 million is part of the existing $83 million raised to date — $14 million short of the $97 million needed for the property.

Terry Welsh, president of Banning Ranch Conservancy, happily holds proof of $8 million donation from State of California to turn Banning Ranch into a county public park on Thursday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

The organization currently holds an exclusive agreement with the property holders of Banning Ranch to purchase the land. Conservationists have until April to raise the total amount and, upon doing so, will then be able to convey the land to a public agency to turn the oil field into and be maintained as a public park.

About $50 million was donated by Newport Beach philanthropists Frank and Joann Randall. An additional $6 million came from a Urban Flood Protection grant from California Natural Resources Agency and $8 million from the California Fish and Wildlife Department. Another $11 million came from a grant from the federal Fish and Wildlife Department.

Two remaining grants are expected to be considered in 2022 and more information on whether or not they get the grants should be coming in spring, said Banning Ranch Conservancy executive director Melanie Schlotterbeck.

Efforts to preserve the land date back decades, according to the Banning Ranch Conservancy. Organizers say Banning Ranch is the largest parcel of unincorporated, privately owned open space along Southern California’s coastline and is home to a number of rare, bird species and the endangered San Diego fairy shrimp.

Terry Welsh, president of Banning Ranch Conservancy, thanks those involved in the project as Costa Mesa council member Arlis Reynolds, Guillermo Rodriquez, CA State Director for the Trust for Public Land, Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris, and OC Supervisor Katrina Foley, from left, join him during announcement of $8-million check donation from the state to turn Banning Ranch into a county public park.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

The property, located at the mouth of the Santa Ana River, has mostly escaped the surrounding development in neighboring Newport Beach, Santa Ana and Costa Mesa, in part because of its status as a working oil field since the 1940s.

“We are thrilled and it is because of the partnerships that the Banning Ranch Conservancy has with the Trust for Public Land, local agencies and our elected leaders that we are this close right now,” said Schlotterbeck on a call Friday.

“It’s been one of those David and Goliath efforts from the get-go. It really is only because of that $50 million commitment from Frank and Joann Randall that we are even remotely close to being done with the acquisition price,” said Schlotterbeck. “It’s a complicated site, but ... I’m sure once people have access to it, they’ll be overjoyed with the wonderful views, the great habitats, the anticipated trails and other opportunities that the site will provide.”

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