Binion Proposal for Laguna Niguel

Well, they did it!

They swallowed it hook, line and sinker. Las Vegas wheeler-dealer Jack Binion, after 10 years of battling with the city of Laguna Beach, finally found a receptive government body to further his aims of developing the last remaining ridgeline in South Orange County.

The neophyte majority of the Laguna Niguel City Council voted to split the Binion parcel--effectively removing the ridgeline from the city of Laguna Beach’s watchful authority.

The writing was on the wall early on--Binion’s lobbyist from Ohio, Dick Turner (formerly with the Local Agency Formation Commission), wined and dined the council in the days immediately preceding the vote.

If there was any doubt about the outcome at the council meeting, it was quickly put to rest by the winks and smiles exchanged between Binion’s boys and the County Planning Commission staff as they were heading up to the podium to make their presentation.

At the very least, Binion’s Gang exploited a naive, insecure, newly established city government, eager to prove that they can take care of themselves.

One can only hope that any development decisions on the new Binion Parcel are far enough off in the future to give the citizens of Laguna Niguel a chance to make a few changes in the next election before it’s too late.

With the exception of Councilman (Paul M.) Christiansen, the sole dissenting vote, the other council members displayed either ignorance or acquiescence in dealing with outside developers.

I am sure time will undoubtedly provide further examples of this. Let’s just hope it’s not too late to correct the bumbling decisions of the current Laguna Niguel City Council.

GREG DeSANTIS

South Laguna