Guide to the Land Agreements Between the University of California and the Irvine Company AS.090

Finding aid prepared by Leland Smith, 2003.
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries
(cc) 2003
The UCI Libraries
P.O. Box 19557
University of California, Irvine
Irvine 92623-9557
spcoll@uci.edu


Contributing Institution: Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries
Title: Land agreements between the University of California and the Irvine Company
Creator: University of California (System). Regents
Identifier/Call Number: AS.090
Physical Description: 0.1 Linear Feet (1 folder)
Date (inclusive): 1960-1963
Abstract: This collection contains photocopies of the agreement between The Irvine Company and the University of California to deed 1,000 acres of land to the University for a new Irvine campus. Included is the initial agreement of July 20, 1960, as well as five supplemental agreements created to extend the amount of time The Irvine Company had to prepare and submit a plan to the University for the purchase of additional acres for an Inclusion Area. The agreement also details the acceptance of a report for the Master Land Use Plan, the terms of the land deed, requirements of survey and title insurance, stipulations for a "Planned Community," and an outline for determining the feasibility of an Inclusion Area.
Language of Material: English .

Access

Collection is open for research.

Publication Rights

Property rights and copyright reside with the University of California. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact the University Archivist.

Preferred Citation

Land agreements between the University of California and the Irvine Company. AS-090. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Date accessed.
For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.

Acquisition Information

Acquired in 1986.

Processing History

Processed by Leland Smith in 2002.

Organizational History

A rapidly growing California population in the late 1950s prompted the Regents of the University of California to explore the possibility of adding new campuses in an attempt to meet the state's escalating need for higher education. Enrollment projections suggested that the University would require three new campuses by 1970 to meet the rising demand. After selecting Santa Cruz and San Diego as new outposts for the University, the Regents undertook a search to discover a campus site in the Southeast Los Angeles-Orange County area. The Regents selected twenty-three sites in the region based on size, shape, physical setting, availability, accessibility, their relationship to the center of population and potential for planned community development. Additional criteria for selecting a campus site included finding an area with a large and increasing population, and a strategic site that would relieve pressure from existing campuses, namely Los Angeles and Riverside.
Because the new Irvine campus did not previously exist as a University satellite campus, developers were able to carefully select a site and its development that met the criteria of their conceptualized model. After narrowing their selection to the three highest-ranking sites, site #9, situated inland from Newport Beach and located on the Irvine Ranch, was tentatively selected. The Irvine Ranch site was perceived as having the greatest long-term potential for development, despite its relative remoteness. Planners envisioned a campus surrounded by a burgeoning planned community that naturally facilitated a relationship between "town and gown." The Irvine Ranch site was also attractive because ownership of the land resided with a single owner, The Irvine Company.
Once the campus site was chosen, the University undertook to appropriate the necessary land for the new campus. In 1960 the Irvine Company reached an agreement with the University of California to deed as a gift one thousand acres of land for a new campus in Orange County. The Regents were convinced that an additional plot of land would be necessary to meet the new campus's ancillary needs. Over the course of the next four years, The Irvine Company and UC negotiated the terms of sale for an Inclusion Area, intended primarily for faculty, staff, and student housing, as well as commercial development adjacent to the campus. In 1963 the two parties reached an agreement in which UC purchased 510 additional acres at a price of $6,500 per acre. Since the original long-range development plan did not include the 510 acre inclusion area, this addition of property made a significant difference in planning the university and surrounding community.

Chronology

Missing Title

1960 · The Irvine Company agrees to deed 1,000 acres to UC for Irvine campus
1960-1964 · The Irvine Company and UC negotiate terms of the Inclusion Area
1964 · The Irvine Company agrees to sell UC 510 acres for the Inclusion Area at a price of $6,500 per acre

Collection Scope and Content Summary

This collection contains photocopies of the agreement between The Irvine Company and the University of California to deed 1,000 acres of land to the University for a new Irvine campus. Included is the initial agreement of July 20, 1960, as well as five supplemental agreements created to extend the amount of time The Irvine Company had to prepare and submit a plan to the University for the purchase of additional acres for an Inclusion Area. The agreement also details the acceptance of a report for the Master Land Use Plan, the terms of the land deed, requirements of survey and title insurance, stipulations for a "Planned Community," and an outline for determining the feasibility of an Inclusion Area.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Planned communities -- California -- Irvine -- History -- Sources
Land use -- California -- Irvine -- History -- Sources.
Deeds -- California -- Irvine -- 20th century
University of California, Irvine -- Archives
University of California, Irvine -- Planning -- Archives

box 1

Agreements, photocopies 1960-1963