MISSION VIEJO : More Land Available for First Civic Center

More acreage than anticipated might be available on a hilly parcel the city has selected for its first civic center, according to municipal officials.

Mayor Robert A. Curtis estimated that upwards of 11 acres, instead of 7.2 acres, could be developed on the 20.8-acre parcel near Crown Valley Parkway.

The site will become city property when the City Council and the Mission Viejo Co. sign a development agreement in the weeks ahead that will guide new construction until the city reaches its planned build-out in 1995.

The land is a gift to the city in return for a negotiated end to the controversy that surrounded a 1987 development agreement that the company signed with the county shortly before Mission Viejo’s incorporation. The deal has been a sore spot for many members of the community.

Curtis and Mission Viejo Co. officials originally estimated that 7.2 acres could be used for the civic center. But when city officials began looking closer at the site in anticipation of the development agreement being signed, they saw that the land could be regraded to yield more usable space.

“It’s impossible to say how much of that area is usable,” said City Manager Fred Sorsabal, “but we will certainly be able to build on more than 7.2 acres.”

Next week, the city will start soil testing on the site. A committee appointed by the City Council to look into uses for the proposed civic center is currently discussing options for the property. Possibilities include a facility for public-safety agencies, a courthouse, a library and a regional human-services center.