Threat to Wild Rivers Causes Citizen Revolt!

This could be the straw that breaks the camel's back! For too long, people have stood by silently while The Irvine Co. and their five paid off city council lackeys have ruined the quality of life of Orange County with endless sprawl.

This time they have got more than they bargained for and face a revolt. Every council member who changed the zoning on that parcel to allow housing on the land that features Wild Rivers should be voted out in 2008!

The Irvine Co. and Donald Bren are already worth billions. Why do they need to build another 3700 beige homes? Why doesn't Mr. Bren do something worthwhile like say pay child support to his many illegitimate children! It's not like like he can't afford it!

Irvine World News Letters
July 19, 2007

LET WILD RIVERS STAY

It looks like people are unhappy that (Wild Rivers) will not have its lease renewed by The Irvine Company and in its place will be 3,700 homes. I bet most of these same people did not even bother to think about the consequences when they voted to eliminate El Toro Airport.
You see boys and girls, once the buffer zone had the restriction against homes removed, then all bets were off. Now were El Toro still an airport today, then the buffer zone would still have non-residential zoning for venues such as water parks and amphitheaters.
Now for those who think (Wild Rivers) would be unbearable with an airport nearby, think again. Look at John Wayne Airport for example. It has definitely not scared people away from overwhelming the beaches of Newport Beach on a hot summer day.
J.C. Carter

I am writing to express my concern regarding the closure of Wild Rivers. I am the grandmother of three from Mission Viejo and have season passes. I believe it will have a negative impact on the community.
The Irvine Co. vision statement speaks of quality of life for families in the community. Wild Rivers is a great place for families to spend the summer months and provides thousands of job opportunities for high school and college students.
Would The Irvine Co. consider extending Wild Rivers lease a few more years, at least until another water park can be completed? Do we really need more housing in the area and more traffic on our freeways?
Judy Simonian

I have lived in Orange County for most of my life. It’s so sad that the Irvine Co. sees no value having places like Wild Rivers and the amphitheater for families in South Orange County.
I understand that extending the lease for Wild Rivers is only a temporary fix, but what are they going to do with the land neighboring the amphitheater until 2017? Why wouldn’t they extend it until then? It would certainly make sense to do so. I can’t imagine developing the land for homes when it’s so close to the amphitheater.
I wish I had the 25 acres to give to Wild Rivers today. Perhaps someday. How rare would it be to actually have an organization/family like Irvine Co. to actually preserve what makes Southern Orange County so unique. You certainly can’t put a price on giving back to your community in such a way by preserving such places.
Christy Ortiz

Community reacts to Wild Rivers’ coming closure

Camp James’ lease will also end. The Irvine Co., City Council answer questions.

BY CATHY TRAN IRVINE WORLD NEWS

The news that Wild Rivers is closing for good Sept. 30 sparked a “Save Wild Rivers” Web site, a Facebook.com group dedicated to keeping the water park open, and more than 100 comments on the Irvine World News online story.
There is also a pen-and-paper petition at Camp James, a summer camp that serves about 2,000 children, including about 75 with special needs, each year. The campground has been next to Wild Rivers since 1998. The camp’s lease, like Wild Rivers’, expires this year.
Camper Nathan Ong, 11, started his petition on Monday.
“It’s going very well,” Ong said. “So far I have 100 (signatures). The reason that I stopped is because I ran out of paper.”
Ong said he will send the petition to The Irvine Co. and hopes to meet with them, and “would do whatever I could do to get camp to stay. It’d be a shame if I can’t make more memories next year.”
Director Theresa Collins said possible relocations to a county park or college in south Orange County are being negotiated.
Others express similar sentiments for Wild Rivers. A Facebook.com petition started by former employee Adam Bramwell had 716 members and www.freewebs.com/savewildrivers had 174 people listed on its petition as of Tuesday.
Readers wondered if The Irvine Co. would consider extending Wild Rivers’ lease, questioning whether people could live in the new homes because the nearby Verizon Amphitheater’s lease runs until 2017.
“We don’t see why it’d make any sense to change course at this point in time,” said Michael LeBlanc, a senior vice president with The Irvine Co. “I think it needs to be understood that ultimately the land use is changing.” He added that it has always been understood by the leasing parties involved that the water park and the camp’s use of the land would be temporary.
Housing construction on the Wild Rivers site will start in about a year and is expected to take nine to 12 months, Le-Blanc said. He said that the construction will meet noise buffering standards required by the city to permit homes near the amphitheater.
The city changed the zoning on the land last year to allow for residential development.
“Since there’s a large number of commercial development being planned in the Spectrum area, we’re working to provide housing opportunities close to jobs and development,” said Louie Gonzalez, a spokesman for the city.
Traffic analyses of the effect the residential development would have show no significant impact on the I-5 and I-405 freeways, Gonzalez said. The Irvine Co. plans to build 3,700 homes on land that includes Wild Rivers, Camp James and the amphitheater.
Mike Riedel, the president of Wild Rivers, said he had no updates on obtaining a site for a new water park. The Great Park committee will review his proposal this fall.
“It’s nice that people care that much about Wild Rivers and that we’ve had that kind of influence on their lives,” Riedel said about the petitions and calls. “It’s a tremendous compliment. That’s one of the reasons I’m working so hard on trying to get us an extension and get another water park built.”
Collins is looking for five to 20 acres for the camp and Riedel is searching for 25 to 30 acres for a water park. Both have their eyes on the south Orange County area.