LAGUNA BEACH : City to Reconsider Annexing Parcel

In what could signal the end of a bitter legal battle over a proposed ocean-bluff development next to Laguna Beach, the City Council will meet Monday to reconsider annexing the 10-acre parcel known as Smithcliffs.

The action comes on the heels of a meeting Friday, during which the property owner, city and county representatives and others agreed to recommend such an annexation, City Atty. Philip Kohn said.

The city has long pushed for annexation of the property just south of the Emerald Bay community, saying plans to build 26 homes on the land would significantly impact Laguna Beach.

While owner Gary Brinderson had initially rejected the city’s overture, city officials have maintained their trump card: The city has the only sewer lines to the parcel.

Hoping to otherwise gain sewer service, Brinderson in 1990 allowed the Irvine Ranch Water District to annex the land. When the city would not let the water district use its lines, the district unsuccessfully attempted to use eminent domain to condemn and gain access to the city pipes.

After ruling against the water district last month, Superior Court Judge James P. Gray nudged all sides back to the negotiating table.

Last week, interested parties, including representatives from the water district and the Local Agency Formation Commission, which approves such annexations, agreed to recommend to their governing boards a settlement that would grant the city permission to annex the land, Kohn said.

“The city’s position throughout litigation has been that sewer service to the property would not be provided without assurance of annexation,” he said. “Since (the development) will be using city services, it only makes sense that the city govern them.”

Brinderson issued a statement through a spokeswoman Wednesday saying: “We’re pleased with the results for our home buyers and look forward to working with Laguna Beach.”

If the annexation ultimately is approved by the county, LAFCO and the California Coastal Commission, the city will gain property tax revenues.

However, Kohn said the city no longer has the opportunity to have a say in how the land will be developed, one of its earlier stated goals. The development plan has already been approved and the land has been graded, he said.

The special council meeting begins at 7:30 a.m. Monday.