OC Parks

OC Parks
Department overview
Formed1922; 103 years ago (1922)[1]
JurisdictionOrange County
Headquarters13042 Old Myford Rd
Irvine, California 92602
33°26′05″N 117°28′14″W / 33.4348°N 117.4705°W / 33.4348; -117.4705
Employees200 (2020)[1]
Annual budgetUS$90,018,793 (2015-16)[2]
Department executive
  • Stacy Blackwood, Director
Websiteocparks.com

Orange County Parks, more commonly abbreviated to OC Parks, is a government agency that maintains and oversees the public parks of Orange County, California. The agency operates both natural and manmade parks of the region. OC Parks is responsible for 60,000 acres (24,000 ha) of inland and coastal open space that collectively receives millions of visitors every year.[3]

Operations

Wilderness parks

OC Parks manages several wilderness parks:[4]

Urban parks

OC Parks is in charge of many manmade or partially manmade parks in urban settings:[4]

Other operations

OC Parks closed many of their parks to vehicular traffic in March 2020 due to COVID-19 safety concerns. Pedestrians and horseback riders were still permitted to enter the parks.[5] In December 2020, OC Parks was permitted to use sand cubes and boulders to temporarily prevent erosion in Capistrano Beach while looking for a permanent solution.[6]

Public works

OC Parks hosted a virtual Halloween event[7] as well as a series of drive-in movie nights amidst the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b "OC PARKS". LinkedIn. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  2. ^ "405 - OC PARKS CSA26" (PDF). OC Gov. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  3. ^ "About Us". OC Parks. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Parks & Trails". OC Parks. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  5. ^ Connelly, Laylan (March 18, 2020). "OC Parks shuts down vehicle traffic at regional parks due to coronavirus concern". Orange County Register. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  6. ^ Boyd, Lillian (December 10, 2020). "Coastal Commission Grants OC Parks Short-Term Fix Ahead of Master Plan". Dana Point Times. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  7. ^ Painter, Alysia (October 12, 2020). "Phantom-tastic: OC Parks Has a Free Online 'Spooky Series'". NBC 4 News Southern California. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  8. ^ Fadroski, Kelli (October 1, 2020). "OC Parks hosts 'Hocus Pocus' drive-in movie nights and free virtual Halloween 'Spooky Series'". Orange County Register. Retrieved February 7, 2021.