Laguna Niguel Maps Plan to Regain Coast

Laguna Niguel cityhood proponents said Thursday that if they have to, they will go to court to regain a piece of the coast which a county agency has given to their neighbor, the proposed city of Dana Point.

Laguna Niguel leaders said they were shocked at Wednesday’s action of the county Local Agency Formation Commission, or Lafco, which voted 3 to 0 to include the Laguna Niguel coast within the boundaries of the Dana Point city plan.

“We will file by Monday a motion for reconsideration (with Lafco), and when that predictably fails, we’ll go across the street to the courthouse,” said Bruce Rasner, an officer with Citizens for a United Laguna Niguel, during a meeting Thursday.

Agency commissioners said Wednesday that they acted in response to a Nov. 3 advisory election, when 61% of the coastal residents voted to join Dana Point rather than remain in Laguna Niguel. By its action, Lafco was recommending that the Board of Supervisors set a June, 1988, election date for residents in Dana Point, Capistrano Beach and the coastal section of Laguna Niguel to vote on incorporating as one city.

The Board of Supervisors must conduct a protest hearing, which is expected to be scheduled for early January. Lafco’s action can be overturned if 50% of the residents within the proposed boundaries of the incorporation area protest.

“This fight (at the protest meeting) is going to be a good one,” said Louis Mazzarese of Laguna Niguel.

Laguna Niguel cityhood proponents say they have not received due process of the law. First, they contend that all of Laguna Niguel’s registered voters should have been included in the advisory vote, not just the coastal residents. Second, they say they should have been notified that Lafco was going to take action on the coastal strip at Wednesday’s meeting.

As it turned out, only a handful of Laguna Niguel residents attended Wednesday’s meeting out of curiosity, contrasted with a Lafco meeting on Nov. 18 when nearly 400 Laguna Niguel residents showed up carrying signs and leading cheers to protest the advisory election.

Rasner said the cityhood committee will meet with its attorneys to discuss legal paths it may have to take against Lafco.

“We believe there are substantive and procedural flaws in the way Lafco handled the (coastal) matter,” Rasner said.

Cityhood backer Steve de Vre said he had received several telephone calls on Thursday from residents who offered donations to pay for legal costs to fight the commission’s decision.

Organizers also have planned a community meeting for Tuesday night at the Laguna Niguel YMCA. They expect hundreds of residents to attend.