LAGUNA HILLS : Cityhood Supporters Say Signs Look Good

Leaders of an effort to create Orange County’s 30th city in the Laguna Hills area announced this week that they have collected enough signatures to place the issue on the November ballot.

The petitions call for the creation of an eight-square-mile city bounded by Irvine, El Toro, Mission Viejo, Laguna Niguel and Aliso Viejo. Ellen Martin, head of Citizens to Save Laguna Hills, said the group has collected more than 4,200 signatures.

At least 3,750 signatures, 25% of the area’s registered voters, were needed to qualify the measure for the ballot.

“This is really doorstep democracy,” Martin said. “It’s been terrific. The morale (among workers) is very high. We are getting such great support when we meet people at the door.”

Citizens to Save Laguna Hills still needs to await completion of a financial feasibility report by a consultant before the organization can take its application to the Local Agency Formation Commission. The study will be paid for by donations collected by pro-cityhood forces in the Laguna Hills area.

A preliminary study showed that the proposed city of Laguna Hills, anchored by sales tax revenue from the Laguna Hills Mall, would have a $3-million to $4-million budget surplus in the first year of operation, Martin said.

Martin expects to submit the application by the end of March and hopes to have a LAFCO hearing scheduled for late April. The Board of Supervisors is also required to hear the application before a ballot measure is approved for the Nov. 6 election.

The latest attempt to create a city of Laguna Hills in June failed by 284 votes due to strong opposition from Leisure World residents. The new proposed city boundaries will not include the sprawling retirement community, but a homeowners group in Aliso Viejo is opposed to cityhood because a portion of that planned community would become part of Laguna Hills.

Meanwhile, cityhood proponents in nearby El Toro have released a completed financial feasibility study that shows a proposed 21-square-mile city composed of three communities would have a $2.3-million surplus in its first full year of operation.

Helen Wilson, head of Community Coalition for Incorporation, said the feasibility report confirms the group’s longtime claim that a city composed of El Toro, Lake Forest, Portola Hills and the undeveloped Foothill Ranch would be financially secure.

Wilson also said her group has gathered half the 8,000 signatures needed to place the issue on the November ballot.

A handful of residents turned out Tuesday night to hear a presentation on the viability of the proposed city. Cityhood advocate Ron Benjamin told the homeowners gathered at the Lake Forest Sun and Sail Club that cityhood will protect the community from unwanted development.

“We have what I see is a serious risk to the quality of our lives,” said Benjamin, an El Toro resident. “We need a real solid community identity.”