LAGUNA NIGUEL : Ridgeline Protectors Say Petitions Filled

The organizers of a petition drive to support a proposed ordinance to protect undeveloped ridgelines in Laguna Niguel say they have gathered enough signatures to place the matter on the Nov. 6 ballot.

The campaign received an unexpected boost from the controversy over the development of 96 acres of land that had been set aside for parks. That matter was disclosed in news reports of July 13, the day before the petition drive officially began.

“The people are indeed angry about the parkland,” said Paul Willems, a member of the Laguna Niguel Ridgeline Protection and Preservation Committee. “It’s given impetus to our effort.”

By Friday afternoon, more than 4,300 signatures had been gathered, Willems said. About 3,600 signatures must be verified to qualify the ordinance for the ballot. The deadline for submitting the signatures is Aug. 10, and committee members say they will pursue the ballot measure if the City Council refuses to adopt the ordinance at its next meeting Aug. 7.

The proposed ordinance calls for a 300-foot setback on both sides of ridgelines and would require that grading within 500 feet of hilltops be consistent with the slope of the land.

On Tuesday, Willems said he asked Councilman James F. Krembas to place the matter on next Tuesday’s council agenda, but interim City Manager Dan Miller said that request cannot be granted.

“There isn’t anything specific to put on the agenda yet,” he said. “The council has not had the benefit of staff analysis and legal analysis of the impacts of this initiative yet.”

A separate, city-prepared ridgeline protection ordinance is in the works and should be ready to present to the Planning Commission on Aug. 14, Miller said, adding: “We’re moving on our own time line.”

If they do not get their initiative on the November ballot, committee members say, they will push for a special election. In signing the petition, committee chairman Richard Taylor said, many residents expressed sadness that it has taken so long to find a way to protect the hilltops, most of which are now dotted with development.

“A lot of people have stated they’re sorry it didn’t take place 10 years ago,” he said. “And a lot of people are really disappointed there’s so little to protect.”

The land-transaction controversy involves a 1988 deed that officials say gave Taylor Woodrow Homes California Ltd. about 99 acres previously set aside for parkland. Krembas, then vice president of Laguna Niguel’s Community Services District, signed the deed relinquishing the land where more than 100 homes have since been built.

Krembas, who is under investigation by the Orange County district attorney, has denied any wrongdoing and said he mistakenly signed the public land deed, thinking it involved another transaction.