Daily Pilot - Banning Ranch defender runs for council By Alan Blank Chris Bunyan, who has fought development proposal on 400-acre plot of land, plans to make a second run after 2006. Thursday, August 05, 2008
Banning Ranch anti-development activist and Costa Mesa small business owner Chris Bunyan announced that he will run for Costa Mesa’s City Council today.
One of the ways Bunyan has been most visible in the community is through his efforts to stop the owners of Banning Ranch, a 400-acre plot of land adjacent to Costa Mesa, from putting more than 1,000 homes and a hotel on the property.
As an integral member of the Save the Banning Ranch Task Force, Bunyan has fought against the proposal, saying that it would be a heavy burden on Costa Mesa because of the extra traffic it would cause on the 55 freeway and nearby surface streets and the loss of open space that could be used for recreation by Costa Mesans.
Copyright 2010 Times Community News. All Rights Reserved
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Daily Pilot - Environmentalist enters Newport Beach council race By Mike Reicher Santa Ana Heights resident Mark Tabbert is a financial advisor and environmental activist. Tuesday, August 3, 2010 11:24 p.m. PDT
A new candidate has entered the race for the Newport Beach City Council's 4th District.
Mark Tabbert, an environmental activist and financial advisor, challenged incumbent Leslie Daigle when he filed the requisite paperwork Monday to run in the November election.
"I've been bothered for a long time about what we say and do on environmental issues," said Tabbert, who has lived in Newport since 1998.
A Santa Ana Heights resident, Tabbert says he is looking for a local platform to bring attention to climate change, species extinction and resource depletion, among other problems. He's a member of the Banning Ranch Conservancy and said the City Council's obligation is to keep the ranchland as open space, but may not have the leadership to carry it through.
"There's only one voice on the City Council now and that's the voice of development, of the status quo," he said.
Copyright 2010 Times Community News. All Rights Reserved
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Daily Pilot – Environmentalists sue Newport Beach over plans for Road By Brianna Bailey A group of conservationists is suing the city of Newport Beach to block new PCH crossroad. Monday, April 26, 2010 12:03 PM PDT
A group of conservationists is suing the city of Newport Beach to try to hold up plans to build a park access road through a large chunk of coastal open space on West Coast Highway known as Banning Ranch.
In a suit filed Thursday in Orange County Superior Court, the Banning Ranch Conservancy seeks to hold up plans for Sunset Ridge Park in West Newport.
The group claims that plans for an access road for the park through neighboring Banning Ranch will pave the way for future development of the area. They also claim the city did not follow state environmental and planning laws in their approval of the project.
“Banning Ranch is a terribly important asset — it’s the last piece of open space in Orange County that hasn’t been developed — it’s what we call nature’s last stand,” said Steven Ray, executive director of the Banning Ranch Conservancy. “We’re very concerned about protecting it, preserving it and restoring it.”
Sunset Ridge, a 13.67-acre sports park, is planned for the north corner of West Coast Highway and Superior Avenue, next door to Banning Ranch.
A 28-foot-wide, two-lane access road would run north-south, cutting across Banning Ranch.
Conservationists say plans for the proposed road match the designs of Newport Banning Ranch LLC, a consortium of three land owners that owns Banning Ranch. The new road would be named Bluff Road.
Newport Banning Ranch LLC wants to build 1,375 homes, shops and a hotel on Banning Ranch. Bluff Road is already included in their preliminary plans for the development. The developer has agreed to give Newport Beach an easement to build the road at no cost to the city.
Copyright 2010 Times Community News. All Rights Reserved
A group of conservationists is suing the city of Newport Beach in hopes of holding up plans to build a park access road through a large chunk of coastal open space on West Coast Highway known as Banning Ranch.
In a suit filed Thursday in Orange County Superior Court, the Banning Ranch Conservancy seeks to hold up plans for Sunset Ridge Park in West Newport. The group claims that plans for an access road for the park through neighboring Banning Ranch will pave the way for future development of the area. They also claim the city did not follow state environmental and planning laws in their approval of the project.
Copyright 2010 Times Community News. All Rights Reserved
Daily Pilot – The Political Landscape: A road might not run through it By Brianna Bailey and Mona Shadia Connection between West Coast Highway and Sunset Ridge Park is set to go before council again. Wednesday, April 14, 2010 8:57 PM PDT http://dailypilot.com/articles/2010/04/14/politics/dpt-landscape041510.txt
The Newport Beach City Council on Tuesday night will consider approving an agreement to build an access road for Sunset Ridge Park in West Newport that will run through Banning Ranch.
Conservationists who want to preserve Banning Ranch, a large parcel of undeveloped, coastal land that abuts West Coast Highway, say that even if paved with good intentions, building the road would be the first step toward developing the area.
“If you can put a man on the moon, Newport Beach can come up with a plan for Sunset Ridge Park that does not involve a road through Banning Ranch,” said Terry Welsh, leader of the Banning Ranch Conservancy, a nonprofit that wants to preserve Banning Ranch.
Newport Beach Councilman Steve Rosansky, whose district includes Sunset Ridge Park, said the road is needed to give motorists safe access to West Coast Highway from the park. Deciding where the road should go has been the result of a year’s worth of approvals, planning and negotiations, he said.
“I think [the road] supports the development of the park and it’s neutral as to the development of Banning Ranch,” Rosansky said.
Plans for the proposed road match the designs of Newport Banning Ranch LLC, a consortium of three land owners that owns Banning Ranch. The new road would be named Bluff Road.
Newport Banning Ranch LLC wants to build 1,375 homes, shops and a hotel on Banning Ranch. Bluff Road is already included in their preliminary plans for the development. The developer has already agreed to give Newport Beach an easement to build the road at no cost to the city.
“The first step toward development is being done by the city,” Welsh said.
Mike Mohler, a project manager for Newport Banning Ranch LLC, said Friday that voters approved Sunset Ridge Park as part of an update to the city’s General Plan in 2006.
“Newport Banning Ranch is pleased to be in a position to help. As we understand it, the road provides safe access and minimal hazards to it,” he said.
Sunset Ridge, a 13.67-acre sports park, is planned for the north corner of West Coast Highway and Superior Avenue, right next door to Banning Ranch.
The 28-foot-wide, two-lane access road would run north-south, cutting across Banning Ranch.
The road would intersect with West Coast Highway about 1,000 feet west of Superior Avenue. Plans for the park show that the road would stretch north from West Coast Highway for about 850 feet, where it would end at the park parking lot.
City plans also include putting in a three-way traffic signal on West Coast Highway at the terminus of the new access road. Construction on Sunset Ridge Park is slated for completion in spring 2011.
Copyright 2010 Times Community News. All Rights Reserved
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Daily Pilot – Mailbag: City is needed to help save ranch By Mark Tabbert The citizens of Newport Beach who voted to have Banning Ranch preserved as open space should be celebrating consideration of Measure M funds. Friday, March 19, 2010 8:38 PM PST http://dailypilot.com/articles/2010/03/19/opinion/dpt-mailbag032010.txt
Daily Pilot – City not giving up on ranch By Brianna Bailey California Coastal Conservancy is looking for ways to secure funding — which could be up to $158 million — for the 400-acre parcel next to Coast Highway. Tuesday, August 11, 2009 10:51 PM PDT http://www.dailypilot.com/articles/2009/08/11/topstory/dpt-banningranch081209.txt
