LAGUNA NIGUEL : Cityhood Opponents May Change Sides

Most of the members of Stop Cityhood may announce next week that they have changed their minds and now favor incorporation of Laguna Niguel, an opposition leader said Thursday.

Dennis L. Head, treasurer of Stop Cityhood, said the group will hold a press conference Tuesday to announce its plans.

“It may be surprising, but it’s possible that about two-thirds of us could announce that we no longer have questions about the budget and so we’re going to switch and favor cityhood.”

Head, a 35-year-old investment manager, noted that Stop Cityhood for the past two weeks has been studying a financial analysis of how Laguna Niguel would fare if a majority of residents vote for cityhood on Nov. 7. That analysis, prepared by an Oceanside consulting firm for the Laguna Niguel Community Services District, was publicly released Oct. 9 by pro-cityhood workers.

The financial study concluded that Laguna Niguel would operate comfortably in the black and even amass a $3.5-million surplus its first operating year, if the community becomes a city.

“The biggest concern of about two-thirds of us in this organization (Stop Cityhood) has been about the budget,” Head said. “So if we’re convinced that the finances would not be a problem, we’re big enough to come around and say we can now support cityhood.”

Stop Cityhood claims about 25 to 30 members and was launched in late August. It stopped active campaign work Oct. 9, after the financial analysis favorable to cityhood was released.

Denny Harris, an executive committee member of Citizens for Cityhood, said Thursday that he was cheered by the possibility of support from one-time opponents. “It would be great,” Harris said. “It would be a uniting, and it would be great to be united as a city, because all the signs indicate we’re going to be a city.”