http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt7c6042gm No online items Guide to the Frank and Frances Robinson Files on Upper Newport Bay Preservation MS.R.090 Finding aid prepared by Patricia Glowinski, 2012. Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries The UCI Libraries P.O. Box 19557 University of California, Irvine Irvine, California, 92623-9557 949-824-3947 [email protected] © 2012 Guide to the Frank and Frances MS.R.090 1 Robinson Files on Upper Newport Bay Preservation ... Title: Frank and Frances Robinson files on Upper Newport Bay preservation Identifier/Call Number: MS.R.090 Contributing Institution: Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries Language of Material: English Physical Description: 30.0 linear feet(23 record cartons, 2 document boxes, and 4 oversize flat boxes) Date (bulk): Bulk, 1889-1989 Date (inclusive): 1841-2003 Abstract: This collection consists of Frank and Frances Robinson's research materials relating to issues surrounding the proposed land exchange between the County of Orange and The Irvine Company that would have allowed the latter to develop the Upper Newport Bay, California. Included are court materials relating to the subsequent trial and electioneering and publicity as well as subsequent activities in the development of the Upper Newport Bay as a nature preserve. Creator: Robinson, Frances Creator: Robinson, Frank Access Collection is open for research. Publication Rights Property rights reside with the University of California. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Head of Special Collections and Archives. Preferred Citation Frank and Frances Robinson Files on Upper Newport Bay Preservation. MS-R090. 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 Gift of J. Frank Robinson, 2002. Processing History A minimal collection-level record was created by Carole McEwan in 2012. Processing and description by Patricia Glowinski, 2012, with additions by Audra Eagle Yun, 2013. Historical Background Frank and Frances Robinson moved to the Westcliff community of Newport Beach, California, in 1962. Frances ("Fran"), a Los Angeles native and longtime environmentalist, and Frank, an aerospace engineer born in South Carolina, became aware of the importance of wetlands in the ecosystem and were alarmed at what they began to observe in 1963 in the Newport Beach Upper Newport Bay area. Signs reading "No Trespassing" and walls were erected, while fill dirt was dumped onto the beaches that were until that time available to the public, to make way for new development. As the population of Orange County grew during the 1950s and 1960s, The Irvine Company and the Orange County Board of Supervisors began a series of land exchanges in order to prepare the Upper Newport Bay area for residential and recreational development similar to the Lower Newport Bay boat harbor. At the same time, public awareness of environmental issues was increasing. Soon the Upper Newport Bay became a disputed wetland area between developers and environmental preservationists. The Robinsons and others founded Friends of Newport Bay (FONB) in 1967 to educate the public about the environmental issues pertaining to Upper Newport Bay. The activists involved with FONB recognized early on that the fight to preserve Upper Newport Bay also needed to focus on legal and political issues, so the Orange County Foundation for Preservation of Public Property (OCF PPP) was formed to focus on legal issues while FONB focused on environmental issues and education. Chuck Greening was one of the early presidents of FONB. He served in the late 1960s to early 1970s. In the 1970s, FONB also kept records for Friends of Bolsa Chica. Frank and Frances Robinson pursued two lawsuits during a roughly 20-year period regarding the legal designation and ownership of land in Upper Newport Bay, and helped establish the Upper Newport Bay as a nature preserve. The first lawsuit the Robinsons entered regarded the constitutionality of the Upper Newport Bay land exchange between The Irvine Company and the County of Orange, and occurred from 1969-1975. The Robinsons and two other couples (Harold and Joan Coverdale and Wesley and Judith Marx) petitioned the court and were granted the right to “intervene” on behalf of the county in opposition to the trade. In 1970, a Superior Court judge ruled the exchange constitutional; however, in 1973, an Guide to the Frank and Frances MS.R.090 2 Robinson Files on Upper Newport Bay Preservation ... appeals court reversed the decision. In 1975, the Upper Newport Settlement Agreement was signed by The Irvine Company, County of Orange, City of Newport Beach, and the Department of Fish and Game authorizing the State to purchase 527 acres within Newport Bay from The Irvine Company for $3.48 million. Combined with 214 acres of tidelands, the Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve was created. The second lawsuit pursued by the Robinsons (among other plaintiffs) and filed by Orange County Foundation for Preservation of Public Property regarded the rightful ownership of islands located in Upper Newport Bay, and occurred from 1979-1987. The lawsuit against The Irvine Company, First American Title Insurance Company, and the State of California asked for the return of the $3.48 million plus interest to the State of California. The case rested upon the plaintiffs proving if the islands were originally tidelands when California became a state in 1850. At that time, under California law, tidelands were to be held in the public trust (as public lands), making a purchase by the state of its own land invalid. Of great importance to the Robinson's research were the field notes and surveys of Newport Bay by S. H. Finley, dating from the 1880s. Historical maps acquired by the Robinsons illustrated that the three islands in Newport Bay in question during the first lawsuit were originally designated as tidelands, thus putting them in the public trust under California law. The Irvine Company argued that the chain of title was valid through the Company's good-faith belief in the settlement agreement. In 1987, a judge ruled in favor of The Irvine Company. In 1999, the bay's Interpretive Center main exhibit was named after the Robinsons. Both Frank and Fran Robinson received numerous national, state, and local awards for their work in preserving the environment surrounding Orange County. Fran Robinson died on June 30, 2001 at the age of 82; Frank died on April 10, 2003 at the age of 84. 1962 Frank and Frances Robinson and their two children move from La Canada to the Westcliff neighborhood of Newport Beach, California, two blocks from Newport Bay. 1962 The Robinson’s son Jay discovers "private" signs posted along the beach in Newport Bay (Back Bay). Summer 1963 May Frances collects news clippings detailing a proposed channelization and development of Upper Newport Bay. Included would be a land exchange between the County of Orange and The Irvine Company. 1965 Orange County Board of Supervisors approve the land exchange. The State Lands Commission vote to withhold approval. 1967 The State Lands Commission reverses its non-approval position on the land exchange. The Robinsons become more determined to keep fighting and they continue to travel, lecture, write letters, and talk to people to gather public and political support. 1967 Friends of Newport Bay (FONB) formed. 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill. The devastation spurred a growing awareness and interest in the United States of January-Februaryecological issues and of the issues and importance of coastal wetlands. 1969 A “friendly” lawsuit is brought by the County of Orange against The Irvine Company (TIC) in order to establish legality of the trade and finalize TIC’s title to the tidelands. The Robinsons and two other couples (Harold and Joan Coverdale and Wesley and Judith Marx) petition the court and are granted the right to “intervene” on behalf of the county in opposition to the trade. 1969 Orange County Foundation for Preservation of Public Property founded. 1970 The California Department of Fish and Game issue a report warning of dire ecological consequences if major modifications are made to Newport Bay and support preservation of the bay. 1970 Orange County Superior Court Judge Claude Owens rules in favor of the land exchange. 1971 Orange County Board of Supervisors oppose the land exchange. 1972 Orange County Board of Supervisors hire attorney C. E. Parker to investigate the validity of the Irvine Company’s Swamp and Overflowed patents. 1973 California State Court of Appeal reverses the 1970 Superior Court ruling and deems the land exchange unconstitutional. 1975 Upper Newport Settlement Agreement is signed by The Irvine Company, County of Orange, City of Newport Beach, and the Department of Fish and Game authorizing the State to purchase 527 acres within Newport Bay from TIC for $3.48 million. Combined with 214 acres of tidelands, the Upper Newport Bay Ecological Reserve is created. 1975 Following the settlement agreement, Parker’s investigation was terminated by the Orange County Board of Supervisors. Parker continues an investigation regarding titles during the second lawsuit (1979-1987). 1977 Frank Robinson receives a copy of Solomon Finley’s field notes of his 1889 survey of Upper Newport Bay. In the field notes, Finley classifies all of the islands in Newport Bay as tidelands. 1979 Orange County Foundation for Preservation of Public Property files lawsuit against The Irvine Company, First American Title Insurance Company, and the State of California for the return of the $3.48 million plus interest to the State of California.