Benefits

Recreational Benefits

Today, the West Coyote Hills property does not offer benefits to the City of Fullerton.  It is a fenced-off former oil field.

Approval of West Coyote Hills would change that: Fullerton residents would finally be able to enjoy the property’s secluded hills and valleys through miles of trails and parks, and a nature center.

Nature Park – About 55 percent of the property - or 282 acres – would be deeded to the City and opened for the public to enjoy.  Pacific Coast Homes also would provide the funding necessary to open the adjacent City-owned 72-acre Robert E. Ward Nature Preserve so residents can finally enjoy this local jewel.  The two preserves will create a nature park that’s three times larger than Fullerton’s largest existing park, Craig Regional.

Trails – Winding through the nature park would be ten miles of nature trails for the public to explore.  For context:  Ten miles will get you from downtown Fullerton to Disneyland, and back.  Plus, these new trails will connect with the popular Fullerton Loop trail – increasing its length by 50 percent and adding more natural experiences.  Interpretive signs and stations along the trails will help to tell the story of West Coyote Hills and identify points of interest.

Vista parks – The trail system would offer access to all five key vista parks Pacific Coast Homes will provide and their sweeping views that stretch north to the San Gabriel Mountains and south to Catalina Island and beyond.  The iconic Hollywood sign also can been seen from these points, which represent some of the highest elevations in Fullerton and were reserved for preservation – not homes – as a result of community input.

Nature center – A LEED Platinum Certified Nature Center would be located within the Robert E. Ward Nature Preserve.  It would serve as the official welcome site for visitors of all ages who seek information related to trail experiences, the land’s human and natural history and upcoming programs.  The nature center building, parking lot, pathways and courtyard would reflect best practices in green design.  The facility would have a small footprint (about one acre of the 72-acre Robert E. Ward Preserve) and be located on currently degraded land to avoid impacts to quality habitat.

Inspiration for the nature center at West Coyote Hills was found through site visits at the Nix Nature Center at Laguna Coast Wilderness Park and Audubon Center at Debs Park and through planning sessions with the West Coyote Hills Trails Committee. 

Long-term funding – Pacific Coast Homes has agreed to provide a $5 million financial endowment to the City designed to cover the cost associated with long-term maintenance of improvements offered by the project, such as the trails, key vistas and nature center.  The endowment helps ensure this expense won’t fall on City budgets or individual pocket books.  The endowment also includes funding to staff the nature center. A separate endowment provided by Pacific Coast Homes would be used to fund coastal sage scrub revegetation, maintenance and monitoring.  The endowment funding is calculated using a pre-determined process (known as PAR – or Property Record Analysis) to determine the amount of the endowment, currently anticipated to be about $1.3 million. 

Citizens committee – A Trails and Open Space Advisory Committee comprised of 40 Fullerton residents and educators supported by a team of planners looked at the open space and trail elements included in original plan and made recommendations to ensure the proposed amenities worked best for Fullerton.  Between November 2008 and July 2009, the committee held six meetings to explore the possibilities for West Coyote Hills.  See the committee’s final report here.

Ten miles of trails, five vista points and an interpretive center would finally be enjoyed by Fullerton residents as a result of the City’s approval of West Coyote hills.