Pact on Canyon Purchase Closer, Fitzpatrick Says

Close but still not close enough is how Mayor Neil G. Fitzpatrick on Tuesday described continuing negotiations over a contract allowing the city to buy Laguna Canyon land owned by the Irvine Co.

The agreement, which would set in motion the preservation plan for one of the last undeveloped coastal canyons in Southern California, is expected to be based on an agreement-in-principle reached last October by the city, the company, environmental groups and Orange County officials.

The original proposal called for the city to buy the land for $78 million in five annual installments, beginning in June. However, negotiators have described the latest round of talks as more difficult than the original negotiations, which yielded the basic framework for the land purchase.

After a closed-door session of the City Council Tuesday, the mayor said the council had hoped to announce that there was a final contract agreement.

“We are closer,” he said, adding that he expects the contract to be on the next City Council agenda for ratification.

Laguna Greenbelt Inc. President Elisabeth Brown said later, “We are almost there.”

According to the initial agreement, should the city default on its payments, the Irvine Co. has the right to proceed with plans to build a 3,200-unit development on the site known as Laguna Laurel. In addition to the basic land purchase agreement, a related pact between the city and the county is expected to detail a management plan for the development of the proposed wilderness park.