Staff Calls for Vote on City of Laguna Niguel

In a reversal of a position it held only last month, staff members of a county planning agency Wednesday acceded to public sentiment and recommended that a proposed city of Laguna Niguel be placed on the election ballot later this year.

The recommendation was contained in a report prepared by the staff of the county Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), which screens cityhood and annexation requests for final approval by the Board of Supervisors.

If the staff’s recommendation is followed by the five-member commission at a meeting Wednesday, the way should be clear for Orange County’s fifth incorporation vote in less than 2 years. The Board of Supervisors traditionally rubber-stamps LAFCO decisions.

Mission Viejo and Dana Point incorporated within the past year after successful incorporation votes. A proposed city of Saddleback Valley was handily defeated at the polls Nov. 8, and LAFCO on Jan. 25 agreed to place on the June ballot a proposed city of Laguna Hills.

In a report issued last month, the LAFCO staff had recommended that Laguna Niguel be merged into one city with Laguna Hills and that the Laguna Hills-only incorporation bid be rejected. The staff had argued that, from a regional planning perspective, it was desirable to create fewer, larger cities in south county rather than many smaller cities. The report also said a larger city would more equitably distribute tax revenue than smaller ones.

But the commissioners ignored the advice, making it clear at their Jan. 25 meeting that they would favorably consider other incorporation requests if solid community support were shown for a new city. In all, as many as seven new cities could be formed in south county over the next few years.

In light of the commission’s stance on Laguna Hills, James J. Colangelo, LAFCO executive officer, said this week that he felt it appropriate to recommend approval of the Laguna Niguel request.

‘Grave Concerns’

“Although LAFCO staff continues to harbor grave concerns over the formation of several relatively small cities . . . it is also recognized that south county residents may prefer smaller cities,” Colangelo wrote in the report.

The commission historically follows the recommendation of its staff, but in rare instances--such as the Laguna Hills cityhood proposal--it ignores the advice and plots its own course.

Last year, the commission also departed from its staff’s recommendation in attaching to the proposed city of Dana Point the 1.5-mile Monarch Beach coastal strip, with its tax-lucrative Ritz-Carlton hotel. The staff had recommended that the strip be attached to Laguna Niguel’s incorporation bid.

Laguna Niguel subsequently filed a lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court seeking to invalidate the commission’s action, but a judge upheld LAFCO’s move.

With this antagonism in mind, cityhood activists in Laguna Niguel were optimistic Wednesday at a hearing of the LAFCO staff’s recommendation.

“That is good news, but now the question is whether the commission will follow the recommendation,” said Bruce Rasner, chairman of the Laguna Niguel Citizens Task Force.

If passed by the voters, the proposed city of Laguna Niguel would consist of about 9,000 acres and 38,000 people. The city’s population would grow to 65,000 at build-out, which is expected in the next decade.

Sound Financial Base

The city would also have a sound financial base, despite the loss of the coastal strip. According to a newly released financial feasibility study conducted for Laguna Niguel, the new city would have a revenue surplus of more than $1.8 million--or 16% of its total revenue--after the first year of operation.

LAFCO’s staff pointed out in the report that the surplus is small compared to other incorporation proposals such as Laguna Hills’, which expects a more than $5-million surplus after the first year.

But the staff added that the revenue estimates are conservative and that additional retail development has been approved for the area. The staff also said the surplus would enable Laguna Niguel to provide local services at existing levels--but not enough to significantly increase service levels in the area.

The fact that Laguna Niguel would have a surplus at all amazed and gratified many cityhood activists, who had glumly considered abandoning their incorporation quest after losing the coastal strip. But at a Town Hall meeting last fall, hundreds of local residents voted to continue their dream of cityhood despite financial uncertainties.