LAGUNA NIGUEL : Council Resurrects Plan for Hillsides

A proposed ordinance to protect hillsides was resurrected this week by the City Council, which ordered the Planning Commission to spell out protections against development.

The Planning Commission on Jan. 9 had unanimously rejected the ordinance--proposed by city officials themselves. The commissioners said other regulations already protected hillsides in Laguna Niguel sufficiently and that the additional law was unnecessary.

However, council members said Tuesday that the city should have more detailed building guidelines and told commissioners to create such an ordinance.

“I think this community needs to be absolutely certain there are adequate safeguards in place,” Councilman James F. Krembas said. “It’s long overdue. Let’s just get on with it.”

A number of residents, some of whom were startled by the commission’s action, urged council members not to let the matter drop.

“We all are anxious to see the city’s hillside ordinance put in place as quickly as possible,” Thom Taylor said.

Commissioner Marc Winer, however, said the ordinance was ambiguous and indicated that previous problems with development were the result of county planning, not a lack of regulations. Guidelines already in place are adequate, since planning decisions are now being made by city officials, he said.

“We want this city to grow properly,” Winer said. “We need to get the citizens of this community to understand (that) we are not the county.”

The ordinance would provide 17 “performance standards” for hillside development, including a requirement that grading follow the natural slope of the land and that long, planed surfaces be avoided, said Robert Lenard, community development director.

The proposal is considered less restrictive than a citizen-backed initiative, which would have governed hillside development while prohibiting development within 300 feet of ridge tops.

The City Council refused to approve that ordinance or put it before voters, fearing that the city would be at financial risk from legal challenges.

City officials, who say the ordinance would render some properties undevelopable and could constitute an illegal taking of property, are expected to ask the courts to determine whether the initiative is constitutional.

Resident Jim Hinkson asked the city to freeze any plans for some properties until an ordinance is approved.

But an attorney for owners of ridgeline property overlooking South Laguna, for which a tentative map for 32 homes already has been submitted, urged council members not to act to “placate a political need.”