LAGUNA NIGUEL : No Zone Change for Controversial Parcel

The Planning Commission this week stopped short of recommending a zoning change to prevent construction of a commercial center on a 3.5-acre parcel near the Beacon Hill Community and instead encouraged the developer to heed residents’ recommendations for the site.

After a two-hour hearing attended by about 40 residents Tuesday, Planning Commissioner James Olmsted said the commission decided that it should not be “overly dictatorial” about the zoning of the property, at Ridgeway Avenue and Niguel Road. Instead, he said, the developer, Philip Bettencourt, was advised to work with residents to alleviate their concerns.

Currently, Bettencourt has an application on file with the city for a 27,600-square-foot commercial center, including restaurants and a market. The zoning currently permits commercial development, but residents have sought to have the 3.5-acre parcel rezoned to prevent further commercial construction.

Residents said they would prefer to have more greenery and fewer buildings on the site. Olmsted said residents also have expressed interest in negotiating with the developer to see if they could buy the land to preserve it as open space and would seek financial assistance from the city if a deal is reached.

“It was clear the residents (at Tuesday’s meeting) were opposed to retail commercial development on the property,” Olmsted said Wednesday. “It was unanimous from the residents’ perspective.”

If the development proposal remains “incompatible” with the neighborhood, a zone change is still a possibility, Olmsted said, but only as “a last resort.”

City officials said it is the first time since the city incorporated almost two years ago that Laguna Niguel has considered influencing development by changing zoning in an area.