Save Our Hills | No Orange Heights

400 Acres of Wildlife Habitat will Be Destroyed

The Irvine Company proposes to destroy almost 400 acres of wildlife habitat by developing 1180 new homes between Irvine Regional Park, Peters Canyon Regional Park, Jamboree and the 241 toll road.

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Take Action

Protect local wildlife and land! Donate to our legal fund, write letters to decision-makers, share your concerns on social media, and engage with your community. Help spread the word by distributing flyers, hosting events, and reaching out to local media.

Take Action

Donate Today

Your financial contribution to stopping the Orange Heights development is crucial to the success of our campaign. All donations to No Orange Heights are processed through our fiscal sponsor, Naturalist For You. All donations are tax-deductible.

Donate Here

Say No To Orange Heights

This crucial wildlife corridor, located between two of our most popular parks in Orange County, is not an appropriate location for a large-scale development of expensive single-family homes

5 Reasons to Say NO to Orange Heights

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Wildfire Hazard

It is located in a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone, which burned during the Canyon Fire 2 in 2017.

Say No to Increased Wildfire Risk

Send a Letter to the City Council

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Traffic Congestion

Santiago Canyon Rd, Chapman Ave and Jamboree Rd are already impacted by severe traffic congestion and traffic related deaths. It contradicts California’s SB 743 from 2013, which now requires agencies to look at Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) instead of Level of Service (LOS).

Say No to Increased Traffic

Sign Our Petition

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Endangered Wildlife

It supports mountain lion, Crotch’s bumble bee, least Bell’s vireo, coastal California gnatcatcher, white-tailed kite and other special status wildlife and plant species. The mountain lion is under review to be listed as Threatened under the California Endangered Species Act.

Say Yes to Protecting Our Wildlife

Donate to Our Legal Fund

Document Wildlife Activity

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Cultural and Historical Significance

It features multiple prehistoric Native American archaeological sites, including CA-ORA-556, a village site which qualifies for the California Historic Register and is considered a Culturally Sensitive Area by the Gabrieleno Tongva Band of Mission Indians.

Say Yes to Protecting Our Heritage

Write a Letter to the Editor

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Prevent Urban Sprawl

It contradicts the City of Orange’s own efforts to prevent urban sprawl, preserve valuable open space and focus on sustainable infill and redevelopment near transit hubs, jobs and services.

Say No to Urban Sprawl

Contact the Board of Supervisors

Canyon Fire 2 burned 9217 acres, including Irvine Regional Park, Orange Heights project site & Peters Cyn Regional Park in 2017.

White-tailed kites (Elanus leucurus) rely on the project site for food. Drastic decrease in population in Orange County. Photo: Tonya Fannon, 2023

On April 3, 2024, at 1:22AM, we captured our 1st trail cam footage of M317, a young male mountain lion who regularly moves through the 400 acres between Irvine Park & Peters Cyn.

Background

On Nov. 8, 2005, despite widespread opposition, the Orange City Council (Mark Murphy, Carolyn Cavecche, Tita Smith, Jon Dumitru & Steve Ambriz) betrayed our community and voted 5-0 to approve The Irvine Company’s Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the controversial 4100-home proposed development project in the rural foothills of Orange known as “Santiago Hills Phase II.”

Surprisingly, EIR’s do not expire, which is a major flaw in CEQA. A new Environmental Impact Report (EIR) needs to be drafted and circulated to take into the consideration all of the new housing developments, recent wildfires, wildlife habitat loss, increased pollution, traffic congestion and other issues that have plagued Orange County over the past 19 years. NO Canyon Hills is working to protect the Verdugo Hills from a similar proposed development project that was approved by LA City Council 19 years ago.

Donate Today!

Your financial contribution to stopping the Orange Heights development is crucial. There are many ways to contribute to our cause. Choose an option below and follow the instructions for completing your transaction. All donations to No Orange Heights are processed through our fiscal sponsor, Naturalist For You. Naturalist For You (NFY) is a 501(c)(3) environmental education non-profit. All donations are tax-deductible.

Make a Credit Card or Bank Transfer Donation Here

Contribute to our GoFundMe Campaign Here

Take Action Now!

The proposed Orange Heights Development will impact all of us in some way or another. Your actions to help preserve this important wildfire break and wildlife resource will make a huge difference. There are many ways to take action, ranging from simple activities that take as little as a minute of your time, to more involved activities. Please take a read through the various ways you can help support our campaign. Choose an action from each category, or select a few to try over a certain period of time. We greatly appreciate any action you can offer.

Roadrunner Level: Quick Actions that take 1-5 minutes

Sign and share our petition.
DONATE to our legal & PR fund.
WRITE LETTERS – Use the following template links:

WRITE LETTERS TO THE EDITORS

CONTACT THE MEDIA: Reach out to television personalities, news channels, online news media outlets, radio stations:

INFLUENCERS: Reach out to social media influencers
NOH T-SHIRT: Order and wear our t-shirt ($20 donation).
YARD SIGN: Order and post our custom yard sign ($10 donation).

Horned Lizard Level: Involved Activities that take 1-5 hours

HOST OUTREACH TABLE: Set up table with promotional materials at popular trails, farmers markets, grocery stores and other busy community gathering places. Get passersby to sign our petition, donate, join our mailing list, write letters and/or volunteer.
CANVAS: Go door to door to engage residents who will be impacted by the development.
DISTRIBUTE brochures, postcards and flyers at businesses, public gathering areas, events.
DOCUMENT ANIMALS & PLANTS: Collect photos/videos of wildlife (birds, bugs, reptiles, mammals, amphibians) and plants on the land and upload to iNaturalist. Even roadkill needs to be documented.
MAKE NATURE REELS: Create reels/videos of the plants, wildlife and landscape of the threatened 400 acres and share on social media.
ENGAGE WITH LOCAL BUSINESS: Encourage local businesses to publicly support the opposition to the development, possibly displaying flyers or posters in their establishments.

NOH Volunteer Form

If you are interested in any of the activities listed above, fill out this form and get in touch.

Name(Required)

First Last

Email(Required)

Enter Email Confirm Email

Phone(Required)

Address

Street Address Address Line 2 City State / Province / Region ZIP / Postal Code

Have you volunteered with No Orange Heights before?

Yes

No

Why are you interested in volunteering with No Orange Heights?

Do you have any special skills or experience you want to share?

Select volunteer opportunities you are interested in(Required)

Table at community events

General office support

Help with fundraising events

Advanced technical assistance (Community organizing experience, videography, photography, etc - please list skills in above question)

Other

Phone

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Bumble Bee Level: Quick Actions that take 5-10 minutes

POST SELFIE REELS/VIDEOS expressing your concerns on our petition and social media, including Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, etc.

Mountain Lion Level: Involved Activities that take 3-5 hours

ORGANIZE COMMUNITY EVENTS: Host gatherings or workshops featuring speakers, screenings &/or other activities to educate and involve more participants in our campaign.
COORDINATE A PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN: Use local radio stations, community boards, and newsletters to spread the word about the opposition to the development.
COLLABORATE WITH LOCAL SCHOOLS AND UNIVERSITIES: Engage students and faculty in conservation efforts, possibly incorporating the issue into school projects, research, or volunteer activities.
PETITION FOR A COMMUNITY VOTE: Work towards getting the development issue placed on a local ballot to give the community a direct say in the matter.
LAUNCH A LETTER-WRITING MARATHON: Organize a coordinated letter-writing campaign where community members write letters simultaneously to flood the offices of key decision-makers.
DEVELOP AND DISTRIBUTE INFORMATIONAL PACKETS: Create detailed packets that outline the reasons for opposition, including scientific data, to distribute to city officials, residents, and potential allies.
ENGAGE WITH RELIGIOUS AND CIVIC GROUPS: Connect with local churches, synagogues, mosques, and civic groups to broaden the base of support.
YOUR IDEAS: What else? We welcome your creativity, passion, skills, knowledge and expertise to fuel this campaign.

NOH Volunteer Form

If you are interested in any of the activities listed above, fill out this form and get in touch.

Name(Required)

First Last

Email(Required)

Enter Email Confirm Email

Phone(Required)

Address

Street Address Address Line 2 City State / Province / Region ZIP / Postal Code

Have you volunteered with No Orange Heights before?

Yes

No

Why are you interested in volunteering with No Orange Heights?

Do you have any special skills or experience you want to share?

Select volunteer opportunities you are interested in(Required)

Table at community events

General office support

Help with fundraising events

Advanced technical assistance (Community organizing experience, videography, photography, etc - please list skills in above question)

Other

Email

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Proposed Project Site

These irreplaceable rolling foothills of aromatic shrubland, perennial grassland, historic cattle pasture, oaks, and cottonwood-laden streams are nestled between Irvine Regional Park and Peters Canyon Regional Park. Every spring they are adorned with a vibrant tapestry of wildflowers. Residents and park visitors share a profound sense of relief and appreciation for these hills because they serve as a natural buffer between the dense urban development to the west and the undeveloped rural gateway to the Santa Ana Mountains to the east.

They are a vital biological link supporting essential members of the ecosystem, including mountain lion, mule deer, bobcat, gray fox, coyote, spotted skunk, long-tailed weasel, least Bell’s vireo, coastal California gnatcatcher, white-tailed kite, northern harrier, grasshopper sparrow, western meadowlark, California quail, greater roadrunner, western spadefoot, Belding’s orange-throated whiptail, Blainville’s horned lizard, Crotch’s bumble bee, intermediate mariposa lily, many-stemmed dudleya, and many other sensitive species.

They are a place where wolves once hunted pronghorn and the Tongva and Acjachemen people thrived for thousands of years. Hidden amongst the vegetation and soil lies a prehistoric Native American village site, known as CA-ORA-556, which qualifies for the California Register of Historical Resources. The site is considered a unique archaeological resource for the purposes of California Environmental Quality Act, thereby contributing an ancient cultural foundation to the heritage of Irvine Regional Park, our state’s oldest regional park. Against the wishes of the community, The Irvine Company wants to sever this precious lifeline by building 1180 single-family homes. The significant impacts of such a large-scale development cannot be adequately mitigated.

A Look at the Numbers

400 Acres of wildlife habitat will be destroyed. This area is home to endangered wildlife, including mountain lions, Crotch’s bumble bee, Bell’s vireo, coastal California gnatcatcher, the white-tailed kite, and other species.

1180 multi-million-dollar single-family homes are proposed to be built on this site, increasing the traffic congestion in an already congested area and contributing to urban sprawl, contrary to the stated goals of the City of Orange.

No Orange Heights has raised $30,415 towards its goal of $50,000. This money will be used to file a lawsuit against the City of Orange to stop this development. Every dollar raised will be used to prevent this development from being built.

Nearly 25,000 people have signed our petition to stop the Orange Heights project from moving forward. Can we count on your support? Visit our Petition site to add your name to our cause. Every person’s voice matters!