Planning Commission Vote Apparently Paved Way for Subdivision

A 1985 vote by Orange County’s chief planning body apparently paved the way for construction of more than 100 homes in an area that had been set aside as future parkland, according to documents released by the county Monday.

The Planning Commission vote on Nov. 19, 1985, conditionally approved a development plan submitted by Taylor Woodrow Homes California Ltd., which had recently bought the Laguna Niguel property from another developer. Although previous documents had set aside the 99 acres for parkland, maps accompanying the 1985 plan showed houses on a large portion of that land. Instead of becoming a park, the property ended up as a subdivision.

“It sounds like somebody wasn’t alert when this went through the planning process,” Planning Commission member Thomas Moody said after being told of the documents. “I would have expected that it would have been caught by staff.”

The documents, released Monday in a briefing for reporters and an investigator from the Orange County district attorney’s office, shed new light on a 1988 land transaction that has raised questions of criminal wrongdoing and drawn heavy fire from area environmentalists.

The documents strengthen the contention that the county staff may have ineptly managed the parcel that had been deeded to it for parks. But serious questions also remain about the actions of James F. Krembas, a Laguna Niguel city councilman who, while serving as vice president of the Laguna Niguel Community Services District, deeded away the public’s right to the property. Krembas signed over the property to Taylor Woodrow on Feb. 12, 1988. Three months later his wife, Jeanette Krembas, was hired by the company. James Krembas is under investigation by the district attorney’s office.

The county’s role is not thought to be the focus of the district attorney’s inquiry, but it too has come under fire for its handling of the property.

Moody, who introduced the motion for conditional approval of the development, nevertheless said that maps detailing the proposed development should have been screened by the county staff to ensure that the development did not infringe on an area reserved as open space. Although the records are incomplete, the motion, which passed unanimously, appears in effect to have changed the property’s status from open space to residential.

Taylor Woodrow Homes President Gordon Tippell, who denies any wrongdoing either by the company or by Krembas, said he was contacted by the district attorney’s office Monday and plans to meet with investigators today.

“We have absolutely nothing to hide,” Tippell said. “We’re willing to meet with anyone to talk about this and to clear this up.”

Tippell added that he was unaware of any zoning change for the property and that he believes it had remained unchanged since at least the late 1970s.

Indeed, records show that the formal zoning designation for the 99 acres has long been “planned community” but that the use envisioned for the property had changed over time. An environmental impact report that included the area in question was prepared in March, 1981, and maps accompanying that report show the 99 acres reserved as open space.

Taylor Woodrow, in fact, appears to have concurred. Records filed with the county on July 19, 1985, bear Tippell’s signature on a document accompanying a map that restates an earlier commitment by another developer to dedicate the property as open space. The county had never formally accepted the deal, instead passing over the offer to the Laguna Niguel Community Services District.

By October of 1985, maps on file with the county showed plans for houses on a large section of the open space area. Then in February of 1988, Krembas, acting for the district board but without having consulted the other members, deeded the property to Taylor Woodrow, giving up the public’s right to the land.

One hundred homes now cover that hillside, and foundations have been laid for 77 more.

“There is no question that you cannot, I cannot, dispose of parkland and allow houses to be built on it without the proper actions being taken,” said Laguna Niguel Mayor Patricia C. Bates. “We’ll be looking into that.”