ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : Open Space: Handle With Care

Now that a developer in Laguna Niguel has dropped its lawsuit against the city in return for the go-ahead on a housing project, it could be that all’s well that ends well. However, the confusing dispute that led up to the agreement never should have happened in the first place. It’s an example of how many loose ends there have been in planning the growth of Orange County, particularly in some of the sprawling newer areas to the south.

The agreement has Taylor Woodrow Homes California Ltd. dropping a $25-million damage suit it had filed against the city after the City Council voted to impose a moratorium on the project in 1990. That followed the discovery of a mysterious transfer to the developer of 96 acres of previously designated open space. The city now acknowledges that the developer, which took over a parcel previously owned by another company, never did anything wrong. Indeed, its revised plan seems to make better use of open space after the transfer than was previously planned.

The episode is put into proper perspective with the assertion from City Atty. Terry E. Dixon and city officials that the problem lay originally with Orange County planning officials. They approved some controversial changes well before the current dispute erupted.

The city’s new tack properly reflects a change from an Orange County Grand Jury report that said 96 acres of open space were simply signed away. The problem began in 1988, before Laguna Niguel incorporated, when the Community Services District agreed to the land transaction. It appears that the county failed to notice that a construction plan differed from one previously agreed to. This illustrates carelessness in the planning of an important region. In one telling observation, City Manager Tim Casey said, “Some people say that the time our staff now spends writing a report to the council about National Girl Scouts Week is more than the entire time spent on the (land transfer) report that went to the Community Services District.” Clearly, a lot more care is needed.