EL TORO : Residents May Get 2nd Cityhood Vote

For the second time in two years, the 58,000 residents of this unincorporated community may get a chance to decide whether they want to become a city or remain under county rule.

The community’s campaign for cityhood received a major boost Wednesday when the Local Agency Formation Commission voted 4 to 1 to put the issue on the March ballot.

Cityhood proponents are expected to receive final approval from the LAFCO board Wednesday and secure routine permission from the County Board of Supervisors within a month.

“We are extremely pleased,” said Helen Wilson, chairwoman of Community Coalition for Incorporation. “It was a good deal for all parties involved.”

Both LAFCO and county staffers recommended against incorporation, citing data that the county will lose at least $3.8 million annually in tax revenue.

But Orange County Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez, who is also LAFCO’s chairman, struck a compromise by getting proponents to agree to remove the communities of Portola Hills and Foothill Ranch from the boundaries of the proposed city. Residents of those neighborhoods have been split over whether they should be included in the city.

If El Toro votes for incorporation, Orange County’s 30th city would be bounded by Foothill Ranch on the north, Mission Viejo on the east, Irvine on the west and Interstate 5 on the south.

It will be the second time El Toro voters get a chance to decide if they want to throw off county rule and incorporate. In November, 1988, the community was part of a cityhood drive that included Lake Forest, Laguna Hills, Aegean Hills and Portola Hills. But residents of the proposed city rejected the idea by a 2-1 margin.

“The cityhood issue is one which only the people must decide,” Vasquez said Thursday. “I’m glad we struck a compromise and a balance.”

Don R. Roth, chairman of the Board of Supervisors, was the lone LAFCO board member to vote against putting the issue on the March ballot, saying the loss of revenue would hurt the county.

“I’m a big advocate for letting the people govern themselves,” Roth said. “But this is a terrible time to incorporate. In these times of budget cuts, how are we going to replace that $3.8 million?”

LAFCO’s decision to place the issue on the ballot has spurred cityhood proponents from neighboring Laguna Hills.

“We are thrilled,” said Ellen Martin, a leader of the Laguna Hills effort. “We’re hoping LAFCO will give the people of Laguna Hills the same opportunity to decide.”

The LAFCO board will also hear the Laguna Hills application Wednesday.

El Toro’s Wilson said cityhood proponents are confident that voters will approve the ballot.

“The people better understand and are more comfortable with the issue of cityhood,” she said. “As soon as we get the necessary approvals, we’re going to kick off the campaign.”