Jobs at Banning Ranch Conservancy

The Conservancy led the community-based effort to save the property, hiring biology and oil field consultants, as well as successfully litigating against City of Newport Beach’s approval of the Banning Ranch development proposal. In 2012, Newport Banning Ranch LLC proposed 1,375 homes; a resort hotel complex; 75,000 square feet of commercial space. After numerous appeals and five years of intense court proceedings, the California Supreme Court decided in the Conservancy’s favor on March 30, 2017, requiring the City of Newport Beach to vacate its 2012 approval of the project. This set the stage for the conservation acquisition and allowed The Trust for Public Land to negotiate an exclusive purchase and sale agreement of 387 acres, with 14 acres being held in private ownership as an oil remainder. Through a personal relationship BRC had with Frank and Joann Randall, the Randalls pledged $50 million of the $97 million purchase price–an unprecedented philanthropic gift. Other funding came from Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris via an $8 million member request and public grants from the California Natural Resource Agency, the California Wildlife Conservation Board, California Coastal Conservancy, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In December of 2022, the Banning Ranch property transferred from Newport Banning Ranch LLC and Aera Energy LLC to the Mountains Recreation and Conservancy Authority, a local public agency and joint powers authority. Paying tribute to the generous benefactors, the property’s new name is the Frank and Joan Randall Preserve, or the Randall Preserve. Now begins the 2-3 year period of oil remediation, handled by former owner Aera Energy LLC, before the property can be opened to the public. During the remediation several plans will be developed that dictate where sensitive cultural sites are located and habitat and species that must remain protected.