Contact Us

info@ranchoortega.com
@Rancho_Ortega

Announcements

Rancho Ortega Blog discusses matters of public interest in South Orange County, including the communities of San Juan Capistrano, Ladera Ranch and Rancho Mission Viejo.

The writings of Don Juan Ortega on the Rancho Ortega Blog are the personal views of the author. This blog is not authored by nor does it have any affiliation whatsoever with any other person, place or entity using the name "Rancho Ortega" (or any similar name).

We have installed some new anti-spam software, and we are going to try again with open registration. Registration and sign-in information are available at the bottom of the far right column. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, you may email us at info@ranchoortega.com.

Categories

Archives

http://www.ranchoortega.com/blog/archives/4622

LA Times Article Describes Sendero as an Example of an Agrihood

The LA Times has published an interesting article about Rancho Mission Viejo’s community of Sendero. The article is here, and it focuses on Sendero as an example of an emerging trend in residential development described by the Times as “a trend by land developers nationally to design communities that center around sustainable farms rather than [...]

http://www.ranchoortega.com/blog/archives/4618

San Juan Capistrano Hosts Forster Family Reunion

A family reunion is typically not news-worthy. When the family is one of the oldest and most influential families in Southern California, however, the rules change. Thus the Capistrano Dispatch reports on a recent weekend reunion of member of the Forster family, descendants of the smartly named John “Don Juan” Forster.

According to the article, [...]

http://www.ranchoortega.com/blog/archives/4586

Irvine Ranch Conservancy’s Wildlife Monitoring Project is a Model of Open Space Land Management

Our friends and neighbors at the Irvine Ranch Conservancy posted this great compilation of wildlife caught on film by the IRC’s Wildlife Monitoring Project. Since our local open spaces comprise the same habitat, we see many of the same animals in our local parks and reserves.

 

//

Irvine Ranch Natural Landmarks

The Conservancy’s [...]

http://www.ranchoortega.com/blog/archives/4538

LAFCO Convenes Stakeholders for Rancho Mission Viejo and Rancho Santa Margarita Local Governance Study Areas

We have frequently mentioned LAFCO, Orange County’s Local Agency Formation Commission, in articles relating to South County governance and cityhood. After all, “LAFCO is the most important government agency you have never heard of.” There have been a couple recent developments at LAFCO that illustrate how much the agency is thinking about Rancho Mission Viejo [...]

http://www.ranchoortega.com/blog/archives/4478

A Topographical View of Planning Area 2

Google Maps has a cool new feature where you can tilt the map and get a topographical view of an area. We decided to have some fun and lay the boundaries for Planning Area 2 over a topographical map of the region. Below is the result — note the boundaries aren’t perfect. We were just [...]

http://www.ranchoortega.com/blog/archives/4471

Planning Area 2 Development Update; Esencia Will be Built in Phases

Chatter about Planning Area 2 is beginning to pick up and we are hearing additional details about development plans there. We previously introduced you to Planning Area 2 here, and more recently updated you on PA2 here. Below is a further status update on Planning Area 2:

Planning Are 2 will be known as the [...]

http://www.ranchoortega.com/blog/archives/4443

Final Names Selected for Rancho Mission Viejo School; Don Juan Ortega Casts His Vote

According to this article in the Capistrano Dispatch, the Capistrano Unified School District has narrowed down the list of names for the new K-8 school that will be built in Planning Area 2, the Village of Esencia, in Rancho Mission Viejo. Among the finalists are:

Barbara L. Banda, a local woman who helped bring Native [...]

http://www.ranchoortega.com/blog/archives/4383

Updating What We Know About Planning Area 2: The Village of Esencia

We have noticed a sudden, recent uptick in the number of internet searches related to Planning Area 2 of the Ranch Plan, what Rancho Mission Viejo has named the Village of Esencia.

We are also learning more about Rancho Mission Viejo’s plans for Planning Area 2 of the Ranch Plan. It is being called “Esencia” [...]

http://www.ranchoortega.com/blog/archives/4350

OCTA Seeking Comments on its Draft Long Range Transportation Plan at Public Meeting Tonight

There is a ton of construction going on in South County right now. For the next few years, South County residents will need to deal with construction on I-5 at Avenida Pico, Ortega Highway and El Toro just for starters. We will also watch as the Rancho Mission Viejo transportation infrastructure is built out over [...]

http://www.ranchoortega.com/blog/archives/4245

What Real Estate Recession? Article Summarizes Extensive South County New Home Development

What real estate recession? Based on the number of construction trucks rolling around town, that ancient history is out of sight and out of mind! If you are like us and are interested in all of the development going on in South Orange County currently (and there is a lot!) you may be interested to [...]