Laguna Niguel Ban Was the Right Move : Building Must Halt Until Parkland Transfer Is Solved

The novice Laguna Niguel City Council showed that it could make a tough decision last week when it voted to impose a moratorium on further construction of homes on a disputed portion of the Marina Hills development.

A moratorium is essential to preserve the status quo until it is clear how 96 acres of land intended for open space ended up in the hands of a developer, Taylor Woodrow Homes California Ltd. Nothing can be done about the 100 homes that have been built on the land, but the dozens more that are planned shouldn’t be constructed unless all questions have been answered regarding this transfer.

Besides the moratorium, the council decided to file suit for possible damages against Taylor Woodrow--a signal likely to reassure residents that it takes this troubling matter seriously. It is proper that the district attorney is conducting a criminal investigation of the mysterious transfer.

This much we know: The land in question, which borders on Salt Creek Corridor Regional Park and is estimated to be worth $40 million to $70 million, was transferred to Taylor Woodrow in 1988, two years before the city’s incorporation. James F. Krembas--now a Laguna Niguel city councilman--quitclaimed the acreage to Taylor Woodrow. Krembas was acting as a member of the county’s Laguna Niguel Community Services District, which was set up pending cityhood.

Krembas has denied impropriety, saying he was deceived by Taylor Woodrow into thinking he was authorizing another agreement entirely. His credibility has not been helped, however, by the fact that his wife was hired by Taylor Woodrow three months after the land swap took place. Krembas last week wisely abstained from the council’s decisions, which included a request for an investigation of the actions of two other board officials--James S. Okazaki, then the district board’s attorney, and James S. Mocalis, the chief executive of that board--who were involved in the deed transfer.

Taylor Woodrow says Krembas was merely completing a land transfer that previously had been approved by the county in return for a park and ball fields in another part of what was then unincorporated county land. There certainly appears to have been some fumbling on the part of the county planning staff that was charged with overseeing the area, pending cityhood.

What can be said at this point is that many people dropped the ball. That even may include Supervisor Thomas F. Riley, whose district includes the Marina Hills development and who should have been looking carefully at any large land transfers as Laguna Niguel approached cityhood.

It may turn out, as Krembas has said, that the transfer was an unfortunate mistake. But no more development must take place until all legal proceedings have been completed. To do otherwise would be to risk compounding the error.

The City Council, in deciding to file suit against Taylor Woodrow, said it is not interested in calling into question the property rights of those who have purchased homes that are already in place. But the undeveloped home sites are another matter.

Taylor Woodrow President Gordon Tippell, appearing before the City Council last week, called a Marina Hills moratorium and lawsuit “drastic” measures and pleaded with the council to hold off.

To its credit, the members correctly moved decisively instead to attempt to find out how valuable open space was forfeited to a private developer and to seek amends for area residents.