District Official Denies Conflict in Land Swap for Park

A park district official who encouraged his colleagues to agree to a land swap with a Florida businessman has stirred controversy by taking a job from the man.

Lynn J. Muir, a local architect and longtime board member of the Capistrano Bay Park and Recreation District, pushed for a deal that requires the city to give up a small amount of public parkland so that Alan Squiteri can build a swimming pool at his Dana Point vacation home. In exchange, Squiteri agreed to buy a much larger piece of parkland elsewhere in the city and donate it to the park district.

Just days after the deal was approved by the city Planning Commission this month, Muir accepted a job from Squiteri for $3,500 to supervise the pool project.

While Muir’s colleagues on the park board agreed that the deal was good for the city, some are angered by Muir’s actions.

“I have some major problems with this,” board member Robert Wilberg said. “It’s somebody using their public office to gain employment. I like the deal, but the mechanics of it stink, to put it bluntly. I’m almost positive Lynn is the one who brought this idea to the board.”

Wilberg’s sentiments were echoed by board member Toni Gallagher: “The community is not happy about this. I think the whole deal should be put back on the table and looked at in a new light. If it appears there is a conflict of interest, whether there was one or not, I think it should be brought back and examined by the public.”

Muir said he agreed to work for Squiteri only after the city planners approved the deal. His arrangement with Squiteri has been scrutinized and approved by the park district’s attorney, Muir said.

“I was concerned about it, so I had our attorney investigate it. If he had come back and said there was a possible conflict of interest, I wouldn’t have touched it with a 10-foot pole,” Muir said. “It just makes me sick that anybody would question this.”

The park district’s attorney, William M. Wilcoxen of Laguna Beach, said in a written statement to the board that Muir could no longer vote on anything related to the project. But Wilcoxen said there was nothing wrong with Muir working for Squiteri, because the job offer was made after the land trade agreement was reached.

“All the park district decisions took place a long time ago,” Wilcoxen said Wednesday. “If Lynn is then approached by someone who wants him to do some work, that doesn’t sound like a conflict of interest to me.”

Board member Tom Crump agreed with Wilcoxen but offered a warning.

“I don’t see any conflict. Lynn is so straight, he’s Mr. Straight Arrow as far as I’ve ever known,” Crump said. “But sometimes perception is reality. Sometimes, as a member of a board, sometimes we have to be doubly careful.”

In the land trade, Squiteri gets a sliver of Heritage Park property--about one-tenth of an acre--next to his home to build a pool and a changing area. In exchange, Squiteri will buy property at La Cresta Drive and Street of the Golden Lantern, which is more than one-third of an acre and includes a house. The district will turn that land into a park.

Squiteri will pay about $400,000 for the parkland, about $100,000 in consultants’ fees and about $250,000 to build his pool, according to district trustees.

The deal is considered unusual because the park district does not sell parkland. In this case, however, Squiteri agreed to give the district back more land than it gave up and in a part of town that needs more parks, Wilberg said.

“We have been trying for a long time to get some parkland in the Lantern Village area,” Wilberg said. “We are getting a piece of property we badly need in these economic times. I wouldn’t vote against it because of all this; we are gaining so much from it.”

District Administrator Stewart Frame agreed: “The district is receiving a piece of property appraised higher than what we gave up in Heritage Park. The piece we are giving up is relatively insignificant.”

Muir said the benefit to the city is the only reason he backed the deal.

“I would never, ever do anything that would embarrass the park board,” said Muir, who was first elected to the park board in 1965 and who has served as a director for 18 years. “If the board doesn’t agree with our attorney, I won’t do the work. But I feel I haven’t done anything that’s a conflict of interest.”

Muir’s employment with Squiteri will be one of the items to be discussed at 9:30 a.m. Friday at a special meeting of the park district board.