EL TORO : Cityhood Campaign Scheduled to Open

Organizers of an effort to create a city out of three South County communities north of Mission Viejo are scheduled to announce today that they are launching a petition drive in an effort to qualify for the November election.

Proponents of the plan to incorporate El Toro, Lake Forest and Portola Hills have called a 3:30 p.m. press conference in front of Heritage Hill Historical Park on Serrano Road near Lake Forest Drive, said Helen Wilson, president of Community Coalition for Incorporation.

If incorporated, El Toro would become the 30th city in Orange County and the third South County community to incorporate in as many years.

“We are just going to announce to the world that we are ready to go forward,” Wilson said.

Organizers are expected to release updated results of financial studies that show the proposed city to be financially able to support itself, Wilson said.

An earlier financial feasibility report showed that if the communities were incorporated into one city in fiscal year 1988-89, the local government would have a $5-million surplus, she added.

Fred Christiansen, an Oceanside financial consultant, is expected to complete a full financial-feasibility study within two weeks.

That study, which compares anticipated city revenues with expenses, should show a 25% to 30% reserve in the proposed city’s first year of operation, Wilson noted.

Coalition members are expected to begin gathering signatures at area shopping centers on Saturday, Wilson said. The group needs to gather signatures from 25% of the area’s 28,000 registered voters to qualify a ballot measure for the November election.

Once the feasibility study is complete, the group will approach the Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission to formally apply for cityhood.