Group Loses Bid to Block 500-Unit Tract

The Orange County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday rejected a community group’s argument that 500 new homes in the Aliso Planned Community might cause traffic and environmental problems.

Laguna Greenbelt Inc. of Laguna Beach complained that the environmental impact report prepared for the development was outdated. For example, the group argued, the proposed San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor was not identified in the report as a toll road, as it is now planned. Elisabeth Brown, president of Laguna Greenbelt, said that could change traffic projections for the development.

Supervisor Thomas F. Riley, whose district includes the development, responded: “We have not been operating in a vacuum. We are aware of these things.”

The supervisors voted 4 to 0 to deny the group’s appeal, with Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder absent.

The appeal was of a tract map proposed by the Aliso Viejo Co., an interim step in the approval of the development along El Toro Road. The map identifies the lot size and locations for possible dwellings and determines the maximum number of housing units that could be built.

The disputed tract map covers about 271 acres of the 6,619-acre planned community. It also identifies 490 houses and eight multiple-family buildings that could include up to 1,259 units. Laguna Greenbelt also complained that the environmental report had not adequately addressed the question of whether deer in the area would lose grasslands where they feed, or the effect on mountain lions’ habitats.

In other action Wednesday, the supervisors also unanimously established a $200 fee for any group starting a petition drive to place an initiative on the ballot. If the signature drive is successful, the fee is refundable.

County Registrar of Voters Donald Tanney said the fee is allowed under state legislation that was passed last year. It is mainly intended to cover the county’s cost of filing and monitoring the petition process. But it also can be a deterrent to frivolous petitions, he said.