Vandals May Be Sign of S. County Turf War

Mayor Eileen Krause said her city “most definitely’ will replace its “Welcome to Dana Point” signs, which were destroyed by vandals two weeks after they went up at the borders of a strip of oceanfront land also claimed by Laguna Niguel.

This time, the signs will be stronger and more vandal-resistant, Dana Point officials said.

With colorful ceremony last month, Dana Point installed its welcome signs at points around the city. Within two weeks, three of the redwood signs had been uprooted and destroyed.

Since two of the three vandalized signs were in the disputed Monarch Beach area, there was speculation that the vandals were from Laguna Niguel. That community has long claimed Monarch Beach, and some of its residents have gone to court to challenge Dana Point’s authority over the affluent 1 1/2-mile ocean strip.

Krause has no idea who the vandals are. But, she added, if the sign vandalism was designed to discourage Dana Point, it has failed. “Vandalism is not going to change the borders of our city,” she said.

Dana Point Councilman Mike Eggers has not suggested that Laguna Niguel residents are responsible. But Eggers called the circumstances of the vandalism “suspicious.”

“Obviously, it was extremely suspicious just because of the location of the vandalism,” Eggers said. “Two were in Monarch Beach and one was on the border.”

Community officials in Laguna Niguel, which is not incorporated, see red whenever fingers point in their direction.

“I don’t believe people of Laguna Niguel would do that sort of thing,” said Marc Leever, a member of the Laguna Niguel Community Services District.

Paul Christiansen, another member of the Laguna Niguel Community Services District, said, “If some in Dana Point accuse the good citizens of Laguna Niguel of malicious actions, I can only say that perhaps there are people in Dana Point who did this vandalism to try to make Laguna Niguel look bad.”

Christiansen added: “Laguna Niguel is already in a strong position to recover our territory and property tax revenue.”

Monarch Beach, a hilly coastal strip south of Laguna Beach, includes the Ritz-Carlton, a resort hotel which generates $2.5 million in annual tax revenue. Organizers of Laguna Niguel’s cityhood drive claim that Monarch Beach has always been a part of the 25-year-old planned community.

In June, 1988, residents of the proposed city of Dana Point overwhelmingly voted for incorporation--including Monarch Beach as part of the city. A citizens’ group in Laguna Niguel quickly went to court to challenge the election, and the case is now pending in appellate courts.

Police have no leads on the vandals, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Department. The signs, which cost about $525 each, were ripped out and smashed.

“It could be someone in Dana Point,” Eggers said. “I’m not going to make accusations about Laguna Niguel because we don’t know where the vandals came from. But whoever did it went to a great deal of trouble and danger to destroy these signs.”

Krause said the City Council, at a meeting this week, asked its staff to report on costs for new, tougher material for replacement signs.

Eggers said he is urging that the council wait until after the November election this year, when the question of cityhood for Laguna Niguel will be decided.

“I think that if Laguna Niguel becomes a city, we can talk about having welcome signs back-to-back,” Eggers said. “I think we can have cooperation and put our signs together.”

Christiansen, of Laguna Niguel, said he also favors cooperation, but not to the extent of giving up Monarch Beach, he added. “It (Monarch Beach) is a historic part of the Laguna Niguel community,” Christiansen said.

Eggers, in a separate interview, said: “We’ll tell Mr. Christiansen he is welcome to drive any time into Monarch Beach. But it’s a part of Dana Point, and the voters there have said they want it that way.”

Added Mayor Krause: “The signs are going to go back up. We’re serious about that.”