LAGUNA NIGUEL : Panel to Consider Zoning Change

In an unusual action, the Planning Commission tonight will consider rezoning a 3.5-acre parcel near the Beacon Hill neighborhood.

The land, at Ridgeway Avenue and Niguel Road, is the focus of plans for a retail commercial center. An application for a 27,600-square-foot development that would include restaurants and a market was submitted in July.

This is the first time since the city incorporated almost two years ago that Laguna Niguel has considered changing zoning for an area, city officials say. The question of land use on undeveloped parcels moved to the front burner in Laguna Niguel recently because the city is in the process of preparing a General Plan to guide development.

“It’s a neighborhood issue, but it’s certainly going to have consequences throughout Laguna Niguel,” Planning Commission Chairman James Olmsted said of the discussion scheduled to take place at the 7 p.m. meeting.

Although it is mainly residents in neighboring communities who have expressed concern about the shopping center, changing the zoning could send a signal that the city will no longer accept the zoning the county approved before incorporation, Olmsted said.

Olmsted said he is concerned about the matter because there are three similar strip centers on Niguel Road within one mile, all of which are doing “extremely poorly,” he said. The question is, “Are we in fact over-zoning for one use in the area?” he said.

Nigel McClurg, a Beacon Hill Planned Community Assn. board member, said that group has considered trying to buy the land to control development but decided some residents could not afford the extra fee.