State Grant to Enable Laguna to Buy Second Slice of Land in Canyon

A $460,000 state grant earmarked for the purchase of land in Laguna Canyon will allow the city to buy a second slice of land once targeted for development by the Irvine Co.

City officials said Monday that the grant for the Laguna Laurel land purchase was finalized by the state on Friday. The funding will come from the state’s Habitat Conservation Fund.

“That’s money we had applied for but had not necessarily anticipated receiving,” Deputy City Manager Rob Clark said. “We were real happy about it.”

Last year, the city and the Irvine Co. negotiated an agreement allowing Laguna Beach to buy a 2,150-acre parcel along Laguna Canyon Road north of its junction with El Toro Road for $78 million. The landowner had previously intended to build a housing development, known as Laguna Laurel.

The property is being purchased in five stages for open space. The first 1,286 acres was bought last year for $33 million. The second 24.7 acres is due to be purchased for $3 million in June. To meet that obligation, city officials had expected to rely on $2.5 million from the county and $500,000 in private donations from the Laguna Canyon Foundation.

With the state grant, the foundation must now contribute $40,000 and can save the additional money for the next purchase in June 1993, Clark said.

Although the city had applied for the state money, officials thought it probably would not be granted until next year, if it was granted at all, Clark said.

“We’re getting almost everything we had asked for, and we’re getting it a little sooner than we had hoped, so that’s great,” Clark said.

Last week, the City Council unanimously voted to move ahead with the second purchase of land. The vote was required by the agreement with the Irvine Co.