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Councilmembers and residents press for coordinated plans and stronger site management as Randall Preserve work proceeds
Summary
Councilmember Arlis Marr updated the council July 15 on Randall Preserve (Banning Ranch) planning and asked for city support on access, coordinated management with the county and MRCA, and stronger enforcement and fire-prevention measures to protect adjacent neighborhoods.
Councilmember Arlis Marr briefed colleagues on progress and outstanding concerns about the Randall Preserve (formerly Banning Ranch) property during the July 15 meeting and asked for coordination among city staff, county agencies and the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA), which holds the deed.
Marr said MRCA is leading the planning process while the owner continues environmental remediation; MRCA plans a phased opening and has indicated that only a single loop trail may be open at first, with additional trails phased later. Marr said the earliest public-opening estimate is currently fall 2027 but that remediation timelines and planning steps make that date subject to change.
Residents and community volunteers who spoke during the meeting cited recurring illegal encampments and campfires near the preserve's southern edge and asked the council to press for stronger site-management measures, security and fire-prevention systems. "We need cameras and more active enforcement so encampments do not return," said a Parkview neighborhood resident who presented a petition of adjacent households. Other speakers asked the city to coordinate wayfinding, pedestrian and bicycle access, and shared grant strategies with MRCA, Orange County and other regional partners so the corridor between Talbot Regional Park, Fairview Park and the preserve functions as a connected network.
Councilmembers said they supported continued coordination. Staff and council identified near-term priorities: (1) confirm main access points and vehicle and pedestrian circulation plans so impacts on Seventeenth Street and nearby neighborhoods are anticipated and mitigated; (2) work with MRCA and the county on security and fire-prevention approaches, including whether the preserve's ranger staffing, camera coverage or remote-sensing/thermal monitoring could be scaled; (3) ensure multilingual public outreach and educational programming; and (4) explore shared grant and operations models across the Santa Ana River corridor.
No formal council action was required on July 15; councilmembers directed staff and the mayor to continue engagement with MRCA, the county and community organizations and to return to council with any items that require city approvals or funding commitments. Marr said he will use the council's comments and the advisory-committee process to provide formal city feedback to MRCA during the public-comment period.
