Philanthropists’ surprise $50-million commitment aids bid to buy Banning Ranch for permanent open space

A pair of Newport Beach philanthropists has promised $50 million to a group of environmentalists that has long worked to protect Banning Ranch’s 401 acres from development. Frank and Joann Randall surprised the nonprofit Banning Ranch Conservancy with the gift at the group’s annual gala Saturday, seeding the conservancy’s acquisition fund to try to keep the property at Newport’s western edge — one of Southern California’s largest remaining undeveloped swaths of coastal land — as a nature reserve. The Trust for Public Land, which is helping the Banning Ranch Conservancy in its efforts to negotiate a purchase from owner Newport Banning Ranch, will commission an independent appraisal to determine the current value of the full property, said Paolo Perrone, project manager for the Trust for Public Land’s Southern California region. The Banning Ranch Conservancy sued the city after it approved the development in 2012, saying it violated the city’s general plan that prioritizes open space in West Newport.