Pragmatic Canyon Bargaining Pays Off : * Historic Agreement on Preserving Laguna’s Open Space Is an Extraordinary Model

It was clear that much remained to be done even after voters in Laguna Beach decided overwhelmingly last fall to approve a $20-million bond issue to go toward the $78-million purchase of 2,150 acres of coastal canyon from the Irvine Co.

Sure enough, the excitement of an election gave way in recent months to dogged negotiation over exactly how the deal would be constructed. The historic agreement that the City Council finally approved April 2 is an extraordinary model for how open-space proposals can be put together. What the various levels of government and a developer have worked out may well stand as a national model for such agreements.

Consider some of the intricate provisions of the agreement: There is a proposed regional greenbelt park that would bring together open space owned by different government agencies, to be managed by the county, and overseen by an advisory group from the state, county and the cities of Irvine and Laguna Beach. The county is to kick in $10 million toward buying the land, and 84 acres are being transferred to the state Department of Fish and Game in exchange for $4 million.

There is creative financing too. The city plans to sell a $5-million bond package backed by parking revenue, and a private fund-raising campaign is under way. There is a provision that allows an environmental group, Laguna Greenbelt Inc., to take over the purchase if the city defaults.

A tricky provision to work out was the set-aside of land in case the alignment of the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor changes. In return, the Irvine Co. agreed to cut fees substantially. The set-aside for a tollway, in a city that has been on record against it, was no small accomplishment.

Setting aside vast tracts of open space in the canyons is no starry-eyed dream. The negotiators have done it through pragmatic and persistent bargaining.