LAGUNA NIGUEL : City to Release EIR for Hilltop Project

The Planning Commission this week inched closer to taking a key vote on a controversial project to build 32 homes on a bluff overlooking the ocean.

By Friday, the city is expected to release the final environmental impact report on the ridgeline project. That report will be followed by a new set of mitigation measures proposed by landowner Jack Binion. A vote is possible before the end of the year.

The plan to build a subdivision at the end of Skyview Way--on what is now a hilltop overgrown with grass, weeds and cactus--has been scrutinized by the city and Binion consultants for nearly three years.

A key step came in October when the city and its consultants, LSA Associates of Irvine, presented a laundry list of design flaws, which it said constituted “significant adverse environmental impacts” and showed the project failed to meet city code requirements.

The project proposed by Binion, who also owns a Las Vegas casino, has also drawn criticism from nearby residents, particularly those in South Laguna who want to protect the pristine hilltop.

In response to the planners’ report, Binion filed two lawsuits in Superior Court against the city. In October, he charged that city planners sabotaged the project by hiding relevant design plans from the city officials who must vote on it. That lawsuit asks that the planning staff be removed from the process in the interest of fairness.

City Atty. Terry Dixon recently hired additional lawyers to assist him should the matter reach the courts.

Despite the cloud of litigation, a second public hearing was held Monday night. Binion’s lawyers presented a set of proposals that they say will make the project more palatable to the city and neighbors.

“They feel that it should now be acceptable to the city,” said Bob Lenard, community development director. He added that in addition to producing the final EIR, the planning staff must also review and evaluate those modifications, which include building the houses so that they are not so visible from Coast Highway and are partially obscured by foliage. The proposals also call for widening streets and constructing a bike trail on the hillside, among other things.

“We sort of expected the applicant to make a lot of changes a little earlier in the process,” Lenard said. “So we really haven’t had a chance to take a look at the (modified) project.”

At the next public hearing on Dec. 10, Binion will present those modifications in detail.

Before they can vote on the matter, the planners must go through thousands of pages of project designs, revised project designs, tract maps, staff reports and public comments.

Even if the project is approved by the planning commissioners, it must get a final OK from the City Council before construction can begin.

Public hearings on the project will be at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at 27801 La Paz Road.