Where is Rancho Mission Viejo?
Rancho Mission Viejo is located in Southeast Orange County and is bordered by Camp Pendleton to the southeast, the Cleveland National Forest and Caspers Wilderness Park to the east and northeast, and the existing communities and cities of Coto de Caza, Ladera Ranch, Las Flores, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente to the west.

Who are the O'Neill/Avery/Moiso Family and do they still own the land?
Rancho Mission Viejo is still owned and managed by members of the O'Neill family, including Alice O’Neill Avery and her son, Anthony "Tony" Moiso, who serves as President and Chief Executive Officer.

What is The Ranch Plan?
The Ranch Plan is a County of Orange-approved, comprehensive, science-based, open space preservation/management and land use plan for the remaining 23,000 acres of Rancho Mission Viejo.

When was it approved?
The Ranch Plan and its program Environmental Impact Report were approved on November 8, 2004 in a unanimous 5 to 0 vote by the Orange County Board of Supervisors.

Why was The Ranch Plan created?
Back in 1991, with an eye toward the future, family leaders Richard J. O'Neill, his sister, Alice O'Neill (Moiso) Avery, and her son, Anthony R. "Tony" Moiso, embarked on a long-term, environmentally driven land management planning process that sought to balance inevitable growth in Orange County with permanent ranch land preservation. The wisdom behind the timing was to put a plan in place while the ownership of the Ranch remained in the hands of the senior members of the Ranch family.

What process was involved in The Ranch Plan's creation?
The Ranch Plan was created through an innovative land use process, which is different from traditional or routine land-planning efforts. Instead of submitting several plans for individual or project-by-project developments, followed by the establishment of different programs for migrating the impacts of development, the family created The Ranch Plan, a comprehensive land planning and management plan founded in environmental science and research.

What scientific studies were conducted?
In 1991, the family entered into a process with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Game and the County of Orange to study and inventory ranch land containing native habitat of threatened and endangered species. This scientific study was known as the Southern Subregion Natural Communities Conservation Plan/Habitat Conservation Plan (NCCP/HCP). In 2007, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service added the Ranch's open space to its 32,818-acre Habitat Conservation Plan.

What are the major components provided by The Ranch Plan?
The Ranch Plan provides for the long-term (20- to 25-years) phased implementation of the following:

• Approximately 17,000 acres (or 75%) of the Ranch preserved as permanent natural open space for habitat and species protection as well as cattle grazing and citrus farming operations;
• A mix of up to 14,000 homes (including 6,000 homes dedicated to seniors) within small villages offering a broad variety of distinctive neighborhoods;
• Sites for schools, places of worship, child care centers, shopping plazas, restaurants, business parks, and civic facilities;
• Land for hiking/biking/equestrian trails, a regional sports park, a community meadow, lakes, community and neighborhood parks, as well as equestrian facilities and the preservation of the Ranch's historic Cow Camp, and
• The construction of an arterial roadway system which will address current and future traffic concerns.

What are The Ranch Plan's guiding principles?

• Perpetuate Orange County's and the family's shared heritage of cattle ranching and farming
• Preserve permanently more than two-thirds of the Ranch as natural open space and habitat
• Protect the local quality of life through thoughtful development phased over 20 to 25 years
• Promote phased planning over the next 20 to 25 years

When will homes be available for sale on The Ranch and what is expected to be included in the first planning area of the Ranch?
2010 is the earliest projected date for the first phase of homes available for sale on The Ranch.

There are six development areas on Rancho Mission Viejo. Plans for the first area were approved by the County of Orange Planning Commission in July 2006.

Major components to Planning Area One include the following:

• Up to 1,170 homes of which more than half of the homes are envisioned as Age Qualified (offering senior and active adult housing and a Congregate Care Retirement Center)
• An estate enclave;
• Opportunities for Home-Based Business enclaves;
• A large Community Park, Community Recreational Center, regional riding/hiking/ equestrian trail connections, equestrian staging area as well as neighborhood parks (both passive and active);
• A 10-acre retail plaza at the intersection of Ortega Highway and Antonio Parkway;
• Opportunities for mixed-use office/retail/residential areas, and
• Fire station, day care center and Rancho Mission Viejo Headquarters.

Does The Ranch Plan include senior housing?
Yes. 6,000 homes are dedicated for senior housing. These will be built in phases over the next 20 to 25 years.

Does the definition of "open space" include golf courses and parks?
No. Ranch Plan 0pen space pertains to the approximately 17,000 acres of land designated to be preserved in perpetuity for sensitive habitat, species protection and managed ranching.