Local News in Brief : Laguna Niguel : Board Approves Gated Homes in Rolling Hills

The county Board of Supervisors has voted unanimously to create a gated community in the Rolling Hills neighborhood near Laguna Niguel after residents complained that motorists were using their streets to avoid crowded major arteries.

However, the board’s decision also required that all of the streets in the Rolling Hills neighborhood be made private, meaning they will no longer be maintained by the county.

Residents told the board that the excess traffic created a safety hazard in their neighborhoods and had increased vandalism in the area.

The move to close the neighborhood was opposed by residents of the adjacent Crown Point neighborhood. They said the gates would force them to use the already overcrowded intersection at Crown Valley Parkway and Street of the Golden Lantern.

However, Tom Matthews, an aide to Supervisor Thomas F. Riley, said that the intersection is scheduled to be widened.