Ridgeline Plans Cause a Landslide of Debate : Open space: Proposed development in the Laguna Niguel-South Laguna area triggers an environmental initiative and a recall attempt.

Twelve years ago, Jack B. Binion, owner of the Horseshoe Club casino in Las Vegas, collected on a gambling debt.

But the payment was not in the form of chips or greenbacks, according to his attorney. It came as 52 prime acres in the Laguna Greenbelt, located on ridgelines with breathtaking vistas of the Pacific Ocean.

Today, that transaction--and a drive to stop development on all ridgelines--is causing rumbles in this 11-month-old city and threatening to topple its fledgling government. All five members of the City Council have been targeted in a recall effort.

And intrigue abounds: A Las Vegas hotel workers union engaged in a bitter labor dispute with Binion is assisting residents of this staunchly Republican community with the initiative. Those on both sides of the issue claim that they have received threats, and a councilman told the district attorney’s office recently that he feared his house was broken into and several of his tapes, containing “personal, political and business dictation,” were stolen. The intruders, he said, left a box of matches from the Horseshoe casino.

The ridgeline issue came to a head last month when the council voted 2-1 with two abstentions to postpone a decision on the initiative language, called the “Ridgeline Protection and Preservation Ordinance.”

A group of residents, the Ridgeline Protection and Preservation Committee, had collected signatures from 4,061 registered voters in Laguna Niguel to support the initiative. Community activists claim that under state election laws, the proposal must be approved as law or be placed on the ballot.

But some city officials and individual landowners have opposed the initiative, contending that it would prohibit at least 72 individual landowners--Binion among them--from building on ridges in Monarch Point, Laguna Sur and Bear Brand Ranch, and possibly on ridges along Crown Valley Parkway.

Binion is among those who believe that he has a right to develop his property, and has sought approval to build 32 ranch-style homes on 22 acres in Laguna Niguel.

The Binion property lies in both Laguna Niguel and South Laguna, but Laguna Beach officials have declared that the lower portion in their city is dedicated to open space and will not be developed. The casino owner has sued the city and a hearing is pending.

The Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International--the Las Vegas union involved in a bitter fight with Binion--has given its support to the ridgeline committee, introducing a peculiar element in what had been a local squabble among homeowners and land developers in one of South County’s most affluent communities.

On Monday, the union announced that the nine-month strike might soon be over because Binion had offered striking workers a new contract. Union leaders said a vote on the new contract could be held as early as Wednesday.

Although Councilman Paul M. Christiansen, the lone council member to support the initiative, is quick to disassociate himself from the union, he and other proponents of the initiative contend that the uproar over the union is being used as a “smoke screen” to divert attention from the real issue--saving the ridgelines.

Activists on both sides of the issue say the debate has turned nasty and have reported receiving threats because of their involvement in the matter.

Tina McFarlin, a San Clemente woman who owns a single lot on a ridge in Bear Brand, has reported to police that she has been receiving telephone calls ordering her “to stay out of South Laguna and Laguna Niguel’s affairs.”

“I was stunned . . . this is a property-rights and human-rights issue,” McFarlin said. “All I want to do is build on my property.”

In a letter to a district attorney’s investigator, and copied to the FBI, Christiansen claimed that he has been the target of “harassment and intimidation.” The councilman detailed how he found the book of matches from the Horseshoe casino in his house and how the tapes and a letter he had planned to send to the district attorney’s office concerning the Binion matter were missing from his files.

Lt. Joe Davis, a Sheriff’s Department officer who acts as Laguna Niguel’s police chief, is investigating the report.

Told about Christiansen’s allegation that matches from the Horseshoe casino were found in his apartment, Binion’s attorney, William Holzwarth of Irvine, laughed and said: “It is out of Mr. Binion’s character to do something like that. I don’t think he’s concerned about Mr. Christiansen.”

The recall issue took another twist two weeks ago when Holzwarth said his client would “return the favor” and back the recall effort against Christiansen.

The Las Vegas casino owner has not yet “worked out” exactly how he would contribute to the recall campaign, Holzwarth said.

“The other four (council members) are innocent bystanders because their options are limited and they have a fiduciary duty not to bankrupt the city,” Holzwarth said. “Christiansen has been the instigator. He has been the main force behind the initiative.”

At the council’s Oct. 2 meeting, Christiansen voted against postponing the decision on the citizens’ initiative. Councilmen Larry A. Porter and Thomas W. Wilson voted for the postponement, saying they wanted to give residents another opportunity to speak out on the matter. Mayor Patricia C. Bates and Councilman James F. Krembas abstained, citing their ownership of homes on ridgelines as conflicts of interest.

Community activists, who predicted that the council would vote in favor of the developers, brandished copies of the recall notices even before the vote to postpone the decision.

“They deceived us,” Eddie Rose, leader of the recall effort, said last week. “This is America and they want to deny the people the right to vote? Nonsense!”

Christiansen received his recall notice at the Oct. 16 meeting. As the councilman sipped a cup of coffee before the start of the meeting, activist Susan Penney presented him with the notice that accused him of “malfeasance.”

“I don’t think that (Christiansen) is acting for the benefit of the entire community,” said Penney, a Charter Terrace resident who said she objected to Christiansen’s position to pass the ridgeline ordinance without more public hearings. “Why wouldn’t he vote to give the other council members more time to study the initiative? The litigation and cost to the city could be dramatic. Come on . . . let’s show a little faith in the people we elected.”

Holzwarth and Laguna Niguel officials say the city could face millions of dollars in lawsuits if it adopts the initiative.

A second issue in the recall is an ordinance that consolidates the city’s April municipal election with the November general election. The ordinance, which was passed by the council last December, effectively extends council members’ terms by at least six months.

In their official response to the recall notice, the four council members targeted by the pro-ridgeline ordinance group said their decision to defer a decision on the ridgeline ordinance remained “within the law and (our) discretion.”

They also said the city would save $50,000 when a municipal election is consolidated with a general election. “Twenty-seven of the 29 Orange County cities have now found it to be economically prudent and a voter benefit (a higher voter turnout) to consolidate the election date,” the reply states.

Christiansen filed a separate response about two weeks ago before leaving on a two-week trip to Paraguay.

“I think this (recall) action is for revenge because I kept my campaign promises to protect the Laguna Niguel environment and open-space preservation,” Christiansen said. “Is this petition designed to intimidate my efforts for clean government?”

After the wording of the petition is completed, the recall backers have up to 120 days to collect approximately 5,000 signatures--20% of the city’s registered voters. If the signatures are verified by the county, the council has up to 103 days to call a special election.

Mayor Bates tried to put the best face on the controversy, saying the dispute, however acrimonious, was being dealt with by locally elected officials and residents of the year-old city.

“At least there is a local forum for them (the activists) to express their content or discontent,” Bates said.