Island donor is ‘proud’ of OCC

The donor who gave Rabbit Island to Orange Coast College praised the school Friday for having taken good care of his former property, a day after the school’s foundation voted to put the land up for sale.

Henry Wheeler, a yachtsman and owner of the Park Water Co. in Downey, gave the island to OCC in 2002 as a field station for students and faculty. At Thursday’s meeting, the Orange Coast College Foundation voted, 15-1, to sell the British Columbian property, citing the high annual cost of maintaining it.

Wheeler said he had no opinion of the plan to sell the island, calling it the school’s decision. He added, though, that he had been pleased with OCC’s treatment of the 36-acre island, which has housed classes in science, kayaking, photography and more.

“From what I could tell, I think they were quite respectful,” said Wheeler, 80. “There are some rare plants that grow only on that island. They protected them. They were good caretakers. Frankly, I was proud of their carefulness.”

At Thursday’s foundation meeting, executive director Doug Bennett said around 10 prospective buyers had already approached him about Rabbit Island.

He added that a pair of Canadian conservationists had expressed interest in maintaining Rabbit Island, which is off the coast of Vancouver, as unspoiled land.

If Wheeler got to decide the property’s fate, he said, preservation would be his top choice.

“If I were to give it again and the school didn’t want it, I would probably give it to a land trust that would preserve that island in its natural state,” Wheeler said. “It’s totally unique.”

He added, “I’d certainly hate to see them put a bunch of condos and a Burger King there.”

Bennett said Friday that he would favor preserving the island as well, but noted that his job with the foundation required him to seek the best price — and that could mean favoring a private buyer over a land trust. Still, he said, the geography of Rabbit Island would most likely prevent condos, a Burger King or much anything else from sprouting up there.

“Realistically, when you look at the island, because it’s so rocky and there’s so little soil, you’re not going to be able to build a sewage system and the other things you’d need to put more people on the island,” Bennett said.