IRVINE : Buildings on Buffalo Ranch to Be Moved

To the dismay of some preservationists, two structures on the Buffalo Ranch complex will be moved later this year to make way for the extension of Ford Road, the City Council decided last week.

The unanimous vote caps a month of debate that centered on the historic value of the ranch, which was once an amusement park and in the 1960s served as headquarters for the urban planners who designed UC Irvine and parts of Irvine.

The Transportation Corridor Agencies requested that the structures be moved so that Ford Road could be widened and extended as part of the San Joaquin Hills toll road project.

The two buildings--a shed and an office--are among 15 structures on the Buffalo Ranch complex. The targeted buildings will be moved to another location on the site.

Last year, the City Council urged the transportation agency to design a Ford Road alignment that preserved as much of the ranch as possible.

The agency presented several alignment options last month. Agency officials favored an alignment that would force the relocation of the two structures, arguing that it would provide the straightest and safest roadway.

In the end, the City Council agreed.

Preservationists hope that moving the buildings will not jeopardize efforts to place Buffalo Ranch on the National Register of Historic Places.