City of San Juan Capistrano Considers 132 Acre Purchase from Rancho Mission Viejo…

The City of San Juan Capistrano may acquire 132 acres from Rancho Mission Viejo, a 23,000 acre cattle ranch operation in Southeast Orange County. The City Council reported after closed session Tuesday that the property would preserve and enhance the eastern gateway to the City and become part of San Juan Capistrano’s ever expanding open-space portfolio.

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For an overview of the city’s Open Space Initiative (Measures X & Y), click here…
For a map of the general area in question, click here…

Officials have been working with the Ranch on details to possibly purchase the property, known as “the old ranch headquarters and lemon grove” area next to Ortega Highway and the “rodeo or polo grounds” south of Ortega Highway from City limits to La Pata Avenue. The property would only be used for equestrian, organized sports, agricultural and open space/creek habitat preservation. Other than the possibility of one equestrian facility and the annual Rancho Mission Viejo Rodeo, no commercial, industrial or residential use would be allowed on the property.

“I am extremely excited about the opportunity for our City to preserve this key piece of Open Space,” said Mayor Mark Nielsen.  “With this acquisition, we can reverse the loss of a defining entry to our City that reflects our equestrian and rural history.  I applaud the leadership of Rancho Mission Viejo for their willingness to work with the City to preserve this property for future generations and give up a large amount of development that was already approved on this site.”

The City is in a 60-day “due diligence” period to appraise the property and review the title report and other conditions affecting the land. Once that’s complete and a purchase and sale agreement is prepared, the City would acquire the property within 180 days. Funding would come from the $30 million open space bond approved by voters in November and any other available funding sources.

Purchasing the property east of the City would benefit the community as a whole – providing more recreational and agricultural areas and preservation of the creek/open space lands. It would also add to the City’s and Open Space Committee’s recent acquisitions and victories. In January, members of the Open Space Finance Subcommittee were responsible for the City and Redevelopment Agency entering into an agreement with Continuing Life Communities (CLC) for an option to buy 116 acres of open space land in the Northwest area of town.  The committee and City also worked together to buy 109 acres of land from the J.F. Shea Co., and committee members lead the campaign for Measures X and Y, which added additional protections for open space and approved the $30 million open-space bond.