LAGUNA BEACH : Council to Consider Development Limit

The City Council tonight will consider an ordinance that would shrink by 90 the number of buildable lots in one Laguna Beach neighborhood, reducing the development anticipated after roads there are improved.

An attorney for some property owners in the affected community said they would battle such “discriminatory and retaliatory zoning.”

The proposed ordinance involves the Diamond/Crestview community in the hills several miles south of the center of town. The community now has about 50 homes on 41 acres. Many of the area’s 243 lots have been considered undevelopable because of poor roads in the area.

But late last year an appellate court ruled in favor of lot owners who want to build on their property and who believe the roads are city streets and should be maintained by Laguna Beach. As a result, the city was ordered to upgrade the streets, a project expected to cost more than $1 million.

Now the city proposes to reduce from 243 to 153 the number of lots in the area and decrease potential density from nine units to 5.6 units per acre. The proposal would be the backbone of a long-term plan to guide development in the community.

The discussion began at last week’s council meeting but was continued to tonight after residents packed council chambers.