A $600,000 state grant will help early planning efforts for preserving 387 acres of natural open space in west Newport Beach, a swath of land considered the last piece of undeveloped Orange County coastline.
Visions for the land, formally called Banning Ranch but renamed the Frank and Joan Randall Preserve following the couple’s donation of half the nearly $100 million sale price of the former oil field, date back decades, with previous efforts to build developments squashed by environmentalists who fought to keep it a natural resource. The property was purchased in 2022.
“I’m delighted. It’s not every day you get funding for a project, No. 1, but No. 2, when the state is in a financial pinch,” said Melanie Schlotterbeck, southland regional lead for Power In Nature, a statewide coalition of community groups.
The new funding from the California Wildlife Conservation Board meets the state’s goal of protecting 30% of land and coastal waters by 2030, an effort dubbed “30×30,” which will help with the preservation of biodiversity, building climate resilience and ensuring equitable access to nature, Schlotterbeck said.
The preserve is home to more than 18 sensitive, threatened or endangered species, has the significant potential to serve as a buffer for coastal climate-related impacts and is adjacent to nearby disadvantaged communities ready for passive recreational use on this land, she noted.
She called the planning grant a “huge win.”
Dudek, an environmental, engineering, and planning firm based in San Diego, was hired to begin the park planning process, it was announced earlier this month.
The company will coordinate a variety of studies and assist with the Randall Preserve design. Once developed, draft plans will be made available to the public for community engagement.
Dudek’s team will complete biological surveys of the vegetation and special status species, as well as complete mapping and surveys of the land and comparing it with older data.
The design for the preserve could include coastal resilience strategies such as wetlands, Schlotterbeck said, which could serve as a solution to rising seas or high tides, the natural landscape absorbing water when levels are high, rather than flooding nearby streets and infrastructure, she said.
In total, the Coastal Corridor Alliance and the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority have secured nearly $1.8 million in funding for developing the preserve, including a $1 million federal grant for planning efforts from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, with support from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Those funds will be used to develop management plans, a resiliency strategy and a public access plan, officials said.
“Creating a nature preserve in an area with so many rare species requires the best possible plan,” said Coastal Corridor Alliance’s Board President Terry M. Welsh.
The land preservation is 30 years in the making, with the sale two years ago marking a momentous win for environmental activists who fought off plans for development dating back to the mid-90s. At one point, about 1,750 homes were proposed.
The Randalls donated $50 million toward the former oil field’s purchase, helping lure other funding that made the $97 million purchase possible.
Because it was a working oil field for so long, Banning Ranch was one of the few privately owned properties on the coast without homes, businesses and infrastructure.
But there’s much work ahead to clean up the land before the public can enjoy it, officials have said.
The land was an active oil field since World War II. Aera Energy, a company based in Brea and a partner in Newport Banning Ranch, is tasked with the remediation effort.
Remediation is expected to be complete by 2025, Schlotterbeck said.
“A lot of progress is being made, the focus at the moment is on the lowland area,” she said, noting that it is nesting season, so many sensitive species are on the mesa and must stay undisturbed through mid-September.
An estimated 17 acres will still be used for oil production. Over the past 60 years, Banning Ranch has produced nearly 36 million barrels of oil.
The vision for the property includes a vast public park and preserve that will provide coastal access with trails, low-cost camping and picnic sites. It will also connect to an existing network of bike and walking trails.
An official public comment period for the finalized proposal is expected around spring of next year.
The project also aims at protecting biological diversity, with approximately 100 acres of marshes, mudflats and riparian scrub and 67 acres of coastal sage scrub home to five endangered species.
