EL TORO : Supervisors Speed Parks Development

County supervisors on Wednesday unanimously decided to speed development of three park sites that have been sitting idle for more than a decade.

The three proposed neighborhood parks, totaling 18 acres, is located within a 1-square-mile area of east El Toro, bordered by Lake Forest Drive, Trabuco Road, El Toro Road and Normandale Drive.

About two dozen local residents attended the meeting and applauded the supervisors’ 4-0 vote.

“It’s a real victory for us all,” said Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez, whose 3rd District includes El Toro. “And we have worked out an equitable plan to pay for it.”

The $1.7 million for the project will come from developer fees for the Pacific Commercentre office park off of Bake Parkway, a three-year assessment charged to property owners surrounding the park sites, and money set aside under the 3rd District Urban Parks Program, said Vasquez aide Sara Schantz.

Area residents, upset that the county had been unable to develop the park sites because of financial constraints, worked with county officials to draft the public-private funding plan, Schantz said.

Plans call for the development of:

* Ten-acre Pittsford Park, on a strip of land between Pittsford and Midcrest Drives.

* Five-acre Rimgate Park, adjacent to the El Toro Cemetery near Rimgate Drive.

* Three-acre Montbury Park, near the corner of El Toro Road and Northcrest Drive.