A Laboratory of Sustainability

By CHRISTINE ROMBOUTS | SUSTAINABLE LAND DEVELOPMENT TODAY

Former military base to become a proving ground for sustainable practices.

The Orange County Great Park is, in every sense of the word, a 21st century laboratory of urban development, smart growth and sustainability. The park, which will be the largest metropolitan park created in the United States in the last 100 years, is being developed in the City of Irvine (Orange County), California, on the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station, a 4,700-acre decommissioned military base.

After a three-year design process—the results of which has already won national recognition—the project will go from the drawing board to construction following the recent approval of its first phase by local officials. As it evolves, Great Park will be an active laboratory of green development, demonstrating new ideas, structures, systems, and technologies, and serve as a model for not only other parks, but any development that seeks to be truly sustainable.

“21ST Century principles of sustainability are present in every aspect of the master plan,” says Frederick Steiner, dean of the School of Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin. “In ­addition to creating a great public space with a zero net-energy goal, the ideas and technologies generated in the park will serve as a living laboratory, raising the bar of sustainable planning and ­development.”

El Toro opened in 1942 and served as a West Coast base for Pacific operations for servicemen and servicewomen in World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam War. As part of the nation’s military restructuring (termed Base Realignment and Closure), the base closed on July 9, 1999. The base was purchased through public auction in February 2005 for $649.5 million by Lennar Corporation, one of the nation’s largest public homebuilders. As part of a development agreement with the City of Irvine, a 1,347-acre parcel was set aside for the park and dedicated to the city by the ­developer.

Estimated to cost approximately $1.4 billion at its completion, the Great Park is being developed and operated by the city and the Orange County Great Park Corp., a separate non-profit entity, and is planned to include extensive natural habitat and preservation areas in addition to recreation, education, entertainment and cultural uses.

“The commitment to sustainability in the Great Park is an extension of the City of Irvine’s commitment to being one of the nation’s greenest communities,” says Larry Agran, chair of the Great Park Corp. board and Irvine mayor pro tem. “We have an opportunity in the park to create a living textbook of sustainable practices, technologies and policies that can be studied and adopted worldwide.”

A World-Class Team
For the design, in January 2006 the Orange County Great Park Corp. selected New York City – based landscape architect Ken Smith. With his collaborating partners: Mia Lehrer (Mia Lehrer + Associates); Enrique Norton (Ten Arquitectos); Steven Handel (Green Shield Ecology); Buro Happold; Fuscoe Engineering; and Gafcon, they formed the Great Park Design Studio, and charged with creating a project nearly twice the size of New York City’s Central Park.

To help achieve its sustainability goals, 12 objectives were adopted to serve as a guide in the design and operation of the park.

1. Biodiversity: Provide ecological habitats and corridors to reflect the local natural heritage and enhance biodiversity in the region.
2. Water: Protect and conserve natural and potable water resources.
3. Land: Remediate contaminated areas and develop healthy living soil.
4. Energy: Reduce the use of fossil fuels and the emission of greenhouse gases.
5. Materials: Minimize the impact of construction materials and the generation of waste.
6. Air Quality: Improve air quality of internal and external environments.
7. Heritage: Instill a sense of place that references the history of the site and the region.
8. Well-Being: Protect and improve the health and productivity of those who visit and work in the park.
9. Connection to Nature: Provide opportunities to experience nature and ­environmental education in the area.
10. Inclusion: Provide park experiences that match the cultural and recreational expectations of all visitors. Encourage community participation and civic engagement.
11. Transit-Oriented: Provide a transit-oriented development with less polluting transportation choices and connections within and beyond the park.
12. Monitoring: Incorporate ongoing measurements and monitoring of key sustainability targets.

Key Sustainable Strategies
Tactics to achieve the park’s sustainable strategies include renewable energy generation, implementation of energy-efficient technologies, public education, and demand reduction in the park’s various structures and operations.

The park will implement systems to reduce the demand for fossil fuel with the goal to become carbon neutral. This will be achieved largely through on-site power generation by use of solar photovoltaic installations and a solar farm utilizing emerging solar technologies. Throughout the park, site lighting will have small photovoltaic cells attached to the lamp posts. They will charge small batteries, which then power lights at night. Meanwhile, a small hydrogen fuel cell demonstration project will be installed in the park, likely in the air control tower, which is still used by the FAA.

As currently planned, more than one acre of photovoltaics will cover the roof areas to generate over 400kW at peak output. There will also be 15 solar collectors featuring mirror dishes with a diameter of more than 30 feet, which will generate over 500kW at peak output. More than 40 acres of switch grass or other biomass crops will be grown for use in an anaerobic-digester, gas-energy facility. Reducing automobile traffic is another key to reducing carbon emissions. The park’s internal transportation system includes multiple overlapping transit modes, enabling visitors to park their cars once and spend a day at the park.

Other sustainable components within its infrastructure include:

• Recharge for the Wildlife Corridor that will provide wildlife nourishment and support the overall sustainability goals planned for the park.
• Numerous local infiltration zones to capture excess stormwater run-off so it can seep into the groundwater aquifer.
• Permanent on-site recycling of debris and landscape waste.
• Deployment of green street designs, such as porous travelways; dark-sky lighting; traffic calming; pervious trails and parkways; tree canopy grouping along roads for shade; low reflective and colored pavements; underground irrigation; and structured soil placement to promote aeration/infiltration while confining roots.

Critical indicators and metrics will measure the park’s performance in improving its level of sustainability. But more important than the actual level of sustainability at any time is the commitment to move consistently toward long-term goals.

The Park’s ­Ecological Backbone
Transforming the sterile expanse of the El Toro airbase into a living, robust landscape is fundamental to the design. The park’s renewed ecological vitality will increase the biodiversity value of adjacent preserves, from the mountains to the north to the coastal preserves near Laguna Beach, California, to the south. This will help maintain a healthy natural environment in the region. Natural waterways will be reestablished and historic habitats will be restored, bringing back Orange County’s natural heritage.

A key component of the park’s ecological character is the Wildlife Corridor, a native habitat restoration that is reserved solely for wildlife movement; it will be off limits to park visitors. Another component is a waterway, the Agua Chinon. Currently trapped in a concrete pipe, it will again be “daylighted” as a living stream. Trails will enable the public to experience a mosaic of habitats for relaxation and environmental understanding.

Vegetation in the park will emphasize native species as a botanical backbone with an overlay of “California Friendly” species that are xeric, non-invasive, low-maintenance, and well-suited to the climate and conditions of Southern California. Additionally, culturally significant plantings will include orchards, agricultural plantings, and lawns. The park vegetation areas will consist of 61 percent native plantings and overall 75 percent will be “California Friendly.”

Among the palm trees and other plantings that will populate the park are a variety of critical habitats, such as vernal pools that support amphibians, specialized plants, and other species that require standing water in the spring. Hundreds of acres of wildflower meadows, grasslands, oak and walnut woodlands, coastal sage scrub, and varied streamside habitats will support birds, butterflies, and other animals long missing from the site.

Phase One
The park reached a major milestone with the recent approval by the City of Irvine and the Great Park Corp. of the first 500-acre phase of its development at an estimated cost of $61.16 million. The phase will involve the excavation 2.6 million cubic yards of soil within the park boundaries. Approximately 185,000 cubic yards of runway will be removed to create the distinct park districts that are part of the overall master plan. The specific features within the districts include: eight tournament-level soccer fields in the Sports Park; a 27.5-acre Preview Park that will feature the Great Park Balloon which takes visitors aloft for a bird’s-eye view; and a 125-acre “working farm;” as well as event lawns, picnic meadows, a cultural terrace site, a performance bowl, and 7.3 miles of walking and bicycle paths.

The planned development also includes the demolition of 85,000 cubic yards of runways that could be recycled into “El Toro Stones” to serve both aesthetic and practical uses. And it encompasses a 125-acre agricultural district that could include row crops and a tree nursery, including 5,000 Valencia Olinda citrus trees.

“The site is very large, flat and featureless,” says Smith, the design team leader. “The biggest challenge we face is bringing life back to the place, day lighting the streams, creating wetlands and lakes, and re-establishing the site’s habitat, flora and fauna.” The park is also a major brownfield project; the Navy ­Department is overseeing ­overall mitigation of environmental impacts from the military operations.

Gaining National ­Attention
The challenges and the solutions created by the Design Studio are gaining national attention. The park design was honored by the American Society of Landscape Architects with its 2009 Professional Award of Honor for Analysis and Planning. It was also singled out by the American Planning Association for its 2009 National Excellence Award for Innovation in Regional Planning and the American Institute of Architects for its 2009 Honor Award in Regional & Urban Design.

“The Master Plan for the Orange County Great Park represents an extraordinary accomplishment,” says Niall Kirkwood, professor and chair, Department of Landscape Architecture, Harvard University Graduate School of Design. “When completed, this project will serve as a model for reclaiming large, damaged, former industrial sites, and restoring them for public use.”

The Great Park will be a healthy place where people from throughout Orange County and Southern California will be able to discover and learn about the environment, the history, their community, culture, and a strong sense of place. Starting from day one, the park will offer a diverse and robust program of activities to engage people and instill an appreciation for our environment and nature. The park will advance human health by promoting exercise, nutrition, and outdoor recreation. Visitors will enjoy the park’s many sports fields, agricultural programs, fresh-food vendors, and multiple cultural, entertainment and recreational opportunities. A great metropolitan park, the Orange County Great Park will be a people place.

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