Developer Wins 2 Rounds in Battle to Build Hilltop Homes
The Carma-Sandling Group, an Irvine-based developer, won two court battles Monday in its ongoing fight with the City of Laguna Beach to build 108 houses on a scrubby hilltop with a spectacular view.
In one case, Superior Court Judge Judith M. Ryan ruled that the city failed to give Carma-Sandling adequate notice before it wrote into its General Plan a mini-park that effectively blocks access to the developer’s project.
The park, 90% completed, measures less than an acre and is situated at the end of Alta Laguna Boulevard. Carma-Sandling wants to build 108 houses on 28 acres of unincorporated land that lie just beyond the park atop The Knoll, a bluff that affords a 360-degree view of ocean, valley and mountains.
But Alta Laguna is the only street that comes close to Carma-Sandling’s property, and the city, concerned that increased traffic would overburden Park Avenue--the only route to Pacific Coast Highway--has said it would not extend the street the necessary few hundred feet unless the developer scaled its plan down to 70 houses. Company officials, who had hoped to annex the parcel to Laguna, said a project that small would be unprofitable.
City’s Suit Failed
The county has approved the 108-home plan, but Laguna Beach sued the county over that approval, arguing that the environmental review process had not been correctly followed. Ryan on Monday ruled against the city in that case, too.
The county could condemn the strip of land needed for access if negotiation and litigation fail to settle the matter.
A park, however, is much harder to condemn, since by law park land “is presumed to be at its highest and best use,” said Gregory Sanders, attorney for Carma-Sandling.
The company sued the city last year after the city designated the Alta Laguna site a park on its master plan of parks and recreation facilities without first notifying owners of affected properties--a violation of the California Environmental Quality Act, company lawyers argued.
Ryan essentially agreed with Carma-Sandling’s lawyers. Her decision, however, does not preclude the city from completing Alta Laguna park; it only means that it must start over and this time include adjoining property owners, among them Carma-Sandling, in the environmental review process.
Council Closed Session
Laguna Beach City Manager Kenneth C. Frank said the City Council would go into a closed session at tonight’s meeting to decide on a course of action.
“It will be very easy for us to go through the process again,” Frank said. “I assume we will just notice it (publish notice). That park has a wonderful view, and it’s absolutely logical to have a park there. If we could reach an agreement (with Carma-Sandling), I’m sure we could move it a little bit (and provide access).”
Sanders said negotiations broke down about six months ago but could be started again. “The company . . . is going to vigorously defend its rights,” he said. “On the other hand, we are not particularly desirous of extending this litigation ad infinitum. We would hope the city would now be willing to bargain in good faith to settle all outstanding differences.”
