EL TORO : Water District Board Backs Cityhood Issue

Proponents of cityhood for the El Toro area got a major boost this week from the Irvine Ranch Water District.

The district’s board of directors voted unanimously Monday night to sponsor the Community Coalition for Incorporation. That sponsorship allows the coalition to apply for incorporation to the Local Agency Formation Commission without submitting residents’ signatures.

But Helen Wilson, chairwoman of the coalition, said her group will also present petitions to LAFCO today containing 7,500 signatures supporting cityhood. Until the group found a sponsor, it needed the verified signatures of at least 7,000 people, 25% of the 28,000 registered voters who live in the area proposed for incorporation.

Wilson said her group will continue to gather signatures “to show we have community support.” She said the group approached the water district to guarantee placement on the November ballot, rather than risk a late filing of an application with LAFCO and the possibility of being forced to hold a special election.

Peer Swan, board president for the water district, said sponsoring the effort is “just good government. It saves everybody money and allows the people to vote on the proposal in a general election. A special election is costly, and only very few voters generally turn out.”

The water district serves the Portola Hills area of El Toro.