Agreeable Development

Laguna Beach city officials and the Irvine Co. last week showed a remarkable willingness to search for a solution to the long-running controversy over the Laguna Laurel residential project planned for Laguna Canyon. While far from completed, the negotiations are a welcome softening of positions that were becoming so hardened that mutual agreement seemed impossible.

The Irvine Co. has long had the Orange County Board of Supervisors’ approval for the 2,000-acre residential development. But board approval did not bring with it community support. There were the usual concerns about traffic and indeed about any development--even a low-density one--in Laguna Canyon’s treasured open space. Recently, an estimated 7,000 protesters--many of them from outside Laguna Beach--marched through the canyon to demonstrate their opposition to the project. It was a clear message that may have prodded the Irvine Co. to rethink the plan.

The current proposal calls for moving the project to Irvine if a number of conditions are met. Whether it’s a good idea is yet to be seen. Much depends on the reaction in Irvine. Still, it is encouraging that all parties keep looking for a plan that will work for everyone.