ORANGE COUNTY VOICES : Saving Our Resources Not Radical

Laguna Niguel and other South County areas have unique features. But the reality is that the special qualities will be lost unless steps are taken now to preserve them.

Some people may say Laguna Niguel environmentalists are anti-development and place them in the category of radicals and extremists. Not true!

There are organizations where concerned people protest against drug and alcohol abuse, organizations that lobby against unsafe automobiles and children’s toys, and organizations that petition on behalf of the homeless. Yes, there are many different groups of people concerned about preserving the health, safety and welfare of our residents--and some of these people are called environmentalists.

There is nothing radical or extreme in wanting to protect the environment and preserve the natural beauty and resources of our land, to retain the unpolluted air and water quality and to enhance our Southern California quality of life.

Southern Orange County and, indeed, Laguna Niguel, are unique. People dream about living in an area with the qualities of Laguna Niguel. But the reality is that we won’t have these special qualities if we don’t take steps now to preserve them.

Laguna Niguel has natural rolling hillsides, open valleys, greenbelts, lakes, wetlands, marshes, ocean, vistas and unique wildlife, flora and fauna, not to mention the prehistoric paleontological deposits that we are only now discovering. Many believe that our city has already been overbuilt. It’s easy to draw this conclusion when driving down Crown Valley Parkway and viewing what once were virgin hills and ridgelines.

Are we losing our premier attractions? Some believe so. Is it wrong to want our city representatives to dig in and preserve and protect what’s left? Many believe that the county didn’t have our best interests at heart, so we joined together to become a city. If we don’t join together once again to protect our way of life, then what’s the point? Our wildlife can’t write letters in protest to save themselves from extinction.

How many places are left in Orange County where you can walk outside and see the deer, coyotes and bobcats, not to mention the soaring eagles? We are amazed to see the herd of deer standing on our slopes so close that you can touch them. No fences or barriers pin them in, they just roam free on the land that they deserve to keep. Where else can you see the fresh marshes, the coastal sage scrub, common wild celery, Italian thistle, brass-button and uncountable other unique species? They can all be found in Laguna Niguel in one of its most significant canyons, called Chapparose Park.

And yet this, too, is imperiled by development.

Environmentalists are not anti-development. They believe in responsible, controlled growth. Developers have a responsibility too! Before purchasing property they have an obligation to ensure that it is conducive to development. However, many times they buy large parcels of land on the chance that it is developable, only to discover that Mother Nature has tricked them.

Yes, Mother Nature created faults, landslides, beds of prehistoric fossils and other geological formations such as wetlands, marshes and watering areas that allow our wildlife and endangered species to live and to make it their nesting ground. Just walking the land you could spot these conditions. Notably the landslides, faults and natural habitat areas.

One would think that developers would withdraw from these areas. But no, they go ahead with their projects. No one wants to take developers’ rights away, but this is the argument they use against our City Council when these issues are raised. However, not all developers are insensitive. Some are responsive to the health, safety and welfare of residents and wildlife. Some believe that it is not worth the monetary gain to disrupt or destroy the ridgeline and habitat, and believe that there are less environmentally sensitive areas where they can build. The environmentalists applaud these developers.

I have been asked the question, “What can we do?” But more importantly: What must be done if we want to preserve our ridgelines, hillsides and canyons where our most precious plants and animals dwell?

We can prioritize what is most important: more development in these sensitive areas, or protecting what cannot be replaced. This does not mean we stop development. What we need is a comprehensive plan that allows development without the devastating destruction of our wildlife, ridgelines, canyons and prehistoric fossils. This must be our priority.

Laguna Niguel and other communities in Orange County also need to adopt hillside protection ordinances to preserve and protect what is left of our rare species of flora and fauna, significant watercourses and unique landforms.

Ordinances of this kind are not easy to enact. They attract opposition from people who want to develop the land and would be hindered by such environmental limitations. Public officials must resist those pressures and balance development interests with environmental good sense and safeguards.

This preservation isn’t just a dream. It could become a reality if the residents of Laguna Niguel and our surrounding communities join together and seek such safeguards for our irreplaceable environment, so that we may enjoy it, and pass it on to future generations.