Tony Moiso Describes his Vision for Sharing the Ranch with Future Residents

Rancho Mission Viejo is introducing us to some of the people on the Ranch. Today, we have an opportunity to hear from Rancho Mission Viejo patriarch Tony Moiso.  The video is below:

Moiso strikes some general themes about caring for the land, maintaining his family’s ranching legacy and sharing that land and legacy with future residents of Sendero – themes he obviously cares deeply about.  But what do those things mean in reality?  Moiso describes “opportunities” for Sendero residents to visit the Cow Camp or experience the trail system that is planned.  But we’ve posed the question before, such as in our post about open space, what does Rancho Mission Viejo mean when it talks about sharing the land with residents?  Is the general public excluded?  Will San Juan Capistrano’s equestrians or Ladera Ranch’s children have access to these wonderful trails?  We hope so — it’s only fair to share the benefits of the Ranch Plan development with those who will suffer many of its inconveniences.

Right now, Rancho Mission Viejo consists of plenty of space — space that is fenced and posted “no trespassing.”  It’s space — but it isn’t open.  Large portions of the O’Neill Conservancy and the Reserve at Rancho Mission Viejo are off-limits to the public, except for certain scheduled events.  We hope that this does not represent the future of Rancho Mission Viejo.  But if it does, potential residents have a right to know that they will not be allowed access to the open space right outside the the doors of their new homes.  Otherwise, they may be disappointed to find out that the fences weren’t built to corral the cattle.

The Ladera protected space around Ladera Ranch is open to all.  The trail system around The Irvine Company’s Newport Coast development is open to all.  Rancho Mission Viejo should make clear that the future Reserve at Rancho Mission Viejo will be true open space, open and accessible to the public at large.  We have faith that Rancho Mission Viejo will do the right thing and make this space (or at least a meaningful portion of it) truly open.