Orange County residents could soon have some new hiking trails in South County, with some potentially reaching the iconic views of Crystal Cove.
Last week, Irvine City Council members unanimously voted to move ahead with studies for a potential new trail network south of the 405 freeway.
The proposal, which came from Councilman Mike Carroll, would potentially set up new trails close by the Laguna Altura, Hidden Canyon, Los Olivos and Barcelona neighborhoods.
When the first city plotted out its trail system in 2007, those neighborhoods weren’t finished yet, but Carroll argued it was long past time to set up open space options for them in a memo to his council colleagues.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to set up and direct the city manager to commission a study,” Carroll said at the March 12 meeting. “This really is an opportunity to just start a process.”
While the exact limits of the new trails remain uncertain, Carroll suggested the new network could connect residents to areas such as Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, Bommer Canyon, Shady Canyon and Crystal Cove State Park.
Carroll’s colleagues were strongly supportive, with Mayor Farrah Khan also highlighting how the city needs to take steps to avoid damaging any of the wildlife currently living in the nature preserve.
“Preservation is key for the south coast wilderness area,” Khan said. “I know we’re working hard to highlight the need for safe passage for our wildlife from the cities to the mountains and when areas are open to people it restricts their movement.”
City Manager Oliver Chi also noted that city staff had already been in conversations with several groups like the Irvine Ranch Conservancy about setting up trails in the area, and that there’s already “a lot of unauthorized access into that area” the city could help cut down on.
The only concerns public concerns raised about the proposal came from Laguna Greenbelt Inc, a nonprofit focused on preserving open space in Orange County.
“We believe it is serving its best possible use as a landscape safeguarded for animal movement,” said Gabriela Worrel, a spokesperson for the organization. “Let’s not put that in jeopardy.”
The discussion of adding new trails to the south comes as city staff are already looking into building new trails on the northern edge of the city near the Orchard Hills neighborhood, which came after the city purchased and shut down an asphalt plant polluting the air near homes.
[Read: Something’s In the Air: Irvine Residents’ Yearslong Battle For Breathable Air]
While the precise future of what trails will be built are still up in the air, the city has already purchased the land from the factory’s former operators.
Noah Biesiada is a Voice of OC reporter and corps member with Report for America, a GroundTruth initiative. Contact him at nbiesiada@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @NBiesiada.
•••
Since you’ve made it this far,
You obviously care about local news and value good journalism. Help us become 100% reader funded with a tax deductible donation. For as little as $5 a month you can help us reach that goal.