SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Officials Prepare to Issue Park Bonds

City officials said Monday that they expect to issue about $21 million in general obligation bonds by July, enabling them to purchase 140 acres of open space for parkland.

A mandate to buy the land was handed down last Tuesday in a special city election, where 71.8% of the voters agreed to repay the bonds through an increased property tax rate. A two-thirds vote was required to pass the bond measure.

“This is not just a bond issue,” Mayor Gary L. Hausdorfer said. “It’s an enormous first step . . . to see the community evolve the way the citizens want it to.”

The average taxpayer will pay about $5.50 more per month in property taxes because of the bond measure, according to preliminary estimates by R. Michael McNamara, a financial adviser to the city.

Officials said that while the bond sale is scheduled for July, land will probably not be purchased for another year.

Most of the delay will come in the negotiations to purchase five parcels making up the 140 acres, Hausdorfer said, because dozens of owners are involved. Most of the properties have been handed down through generations of local farming families, and they now have multiple owners. One parcel, for example, is owned by 25 people, Hausdorfer explained.