Monarch Beach Project Up in Air : Development: City blocks extension of an Australian company’s building permits over an unmet obligation in a 1988 agreement to build two baseball fields.

Hoping to end a 14-month delay in the financing of a long-awaited park improvement plan, city officials have temporarily blocked an Australian company’s bid for an extension of coastal permits to build a seaside resort hotel in Monarch Beach.

“We have been sitting around and twiddling our thumbs for too long,” Councilman Paul M. Christiansen said before the City Council met in closed session Tuesday night to discuss legal options against the financially troubled firm, Qintex.

“The city must take the strongest possible measures to ensure that Qintex or its successor comply with their obligations,” Christiansen said.

As part of an effort to entice potential buyers to its 232-acre beachfront property, which is in Dana Point, Qintex last month asked the California Coastal Commission to grant one-year extensions to three development permits.

Although the property is not formally for sale, Qintex intends to eventually sell off the prime ocean-view real estate, according to Kevin Wallace, a Qintex executive in Beverly Hills.

And with permit extensions in hand, the land would easier to sell, said Dana Point City Manager William O. Talley, who supports approval of the permit extensions.

“We want this to occur as smoothly as possible,” Talley said. “They (Qintex) want to sell, and we want that to happen.”

Laguna Niguel City Atty. Terry Dixon confirmed, however, that on Friday he filed an objection to the extension application, effectively blocking the process at least temporarily.

Dixon said he argued that the Coastal Commission should not grant the extension until the terms of a Dec. 30, 1988, contract are honored.

That contract calls for the owner of the Monarch Beach property to post a $2.6-million bond to finance construction of two Little League baseball fields in Laguna Niguel.

The agreement was signed by the Laguna Niguel Resort Assn. and the Laguna Niguel Community Services District, which had jurisdiction over the land until Dana Point was incorporated on Jan. 1, 1989.

Laguna Niguel City Council members contend that Qintex inherited the contract when it bought the property last August from the association, owned by local developers Stein-Brief Group and Hawaiian developer Christopher B. Hemmeter.

Dixon said it is unclear who is legally responsible for posting the bond, but he suggested that Qintex should have some obligation since it is now owner of the property.

“There is no question in my mind that somebody has the obligation,” Dixon said. Posting of the bond “ought to be taken into consideration by the Coastal Commission.”

Councilman Larry A. Porter said that Qintex representatives have contacted city officials several times since taking over the property to give assurances that the bond would be posted and the work completed.

However, Qintex’s Wallace said the city has no right either to block the permit extensions or force his company to post the bond.

“Our dealings are solely with the city of Dana Point and the Laguna Niguel Resort Assn.,” Wallace said. “It is not our obligation.”

Quintex Dispute Quintex wants to sell 232 acres in the Monarch Beach area of Dana Point, where it wants to build a resort hotel. But Dana Point officials, concerned that Quntex has not honored a contract to build two baseball fields in connection with the project, have temporarily blocked the company from selling the land.