Saddleback Cityhood Vote to Be Put on Nov. 8 Ballot

The Orange County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday agreed to let voters in several Saddleback Valley communities decide this fall whether the area should be incorporated into one city.

The supervisors voted unanimously and without comment to place the cityhood question on the Nov. 8 ballot. The decision came a week after the Local Agency Formation Commission, a countywide boundary-setting agency, reaffirmed its June decision to allow the cityhood plan to move forward.

Opponents said the board’s ballot action came as no surprise in view of LAFCO’s decision.

“We will be conducting a vigorous campaign to acquaint voters with the issue,” said Craig Scott, who does not want the proposed city to include unincorporated Laguna Hills, the largest of the communities in the valley. “We will be as strong a voice as ever” against the valleywide cityhood plan, he said.

Plan Public Forums

But backers of the cityhood plan said they will schedule a series of public forums on the issue and conduct a voter registration drive. A recently formed group, “Yes!” for Cityhood Committee, will attempt to build support for incorporation, said Dale White, chairman of the group’s steering committee. The measure must win a simple majority in the affected area to pass.

The cityhood proposal approved for the ballot Tuesday would create a boot-shaped city of 77,000 that would encompass the unincorporated communities of Laguna Hills, El Toro, Lake Forest and Aegean Hills. Interstate 5 now divides Laguna Hills from the other communities.

A separate proposal to incorporate Laguna Hills as a separate city of about 50,000 residents has been put on hold until after the November election.

White said she has declined an invitation from Scott to debate him on the merits of the two proposals.

“This is a general campaign issue and debates are for candidates,” White said. “I am not running for office.”

Other Questions

In addition to the question of whether a city should be formed, voters in the area will be asked in November:

To choose five people to sit on the new city’s at-large city council if incorporation is approved. No one has officially declared a candidacy for the seats.

To decide if future city council members should be chosen from districts or at-large.

To name the new city. Voters will choose from Saddleback Valley, Laguna Hills or Rancho Viejo. They will also be able to write in their own choices.