Dana Point Should Vote on General Plan : * Council Can Calm Troubled Waters by Not Fighting Petitions for Ballot Initiative

Like many of Orange County’s newest cities, Dana Point is having sharp growing pains. The 3-year-old city is engaged in a pitched battle over its General Plan, which maps out a blueprint for the city well into the 21st Century. At some point everyone involved must stop the demagoguery and work out a compromise. It would save a lot of money in legal bills, and a lot of headaches, if that happened now rather than later. But that will take a willingness on everyone’s part to set aside personal agendas and work together for the good of this fledgling city.

On Tuesday the City Council will have a chance to calm the waters. It should agree to put the General Plan on the ballot rather than challenge a court ruling upholding the validity of petitions gathered for that purpose. At the same time, the council should form a blue-ribbon committee--including the plan’s most vocal critics--to suggest amendments that might avoid the necessity for such a vote.

So inflamed has the situation become that it’s hard to determine exactly what the problems are. All seem to have vastly different concerns, depending on what part of the city they live in or what other issues they consider important. That’s partly because the city--which, before incorporation, was made up of the communities of Capistrano Beach, Monarch Beach and Dana Point--has not had sufficient time to jell.

Part of the current problem, however, stems from an earlier proposal by the City Council to form a redevelopment agency within the city. Used wisely, these agencies can provide important planning tools. But some people fear the possible abuse of a redevelopment agency’s powers to take private property--albeit with compensation--even if for the public good. A loose-knit coalition of activists has capitalized in recent years on these fears in other cities around the state; some of these activists were involved in stirring the waters in Dana Point. That’s unfortunate for two reasons: a redevelopment agency might well have been a wise thing for the city, and the brouhaha over redevelopment has caused long-lasting damage in the community.

These are difficult things to overcome. But it’s important now that everyone calm down and work together on a General Plan--with an emphasis on general --that can provide the basis for discussions about Dana Point’s future. Continuing the battle over the plan only delays the inevitable. Should the General Plan be scrapped, the city only would go back to square one--without a General Plan as required by state law.