LAGUNA HILLS : Rapid Falls Park Plan OKd by Council

A controversial plan to build Rapid Falls Park in the exclusive Nellie Gail Ranch subdivision has been approved by the City Council over the objections of residents who claimed it will erode quality of life and property values.

However, representatives of youth sports organizations thanked the council for its action last week.

They said the park’s two baseball diamonds and soccer fields will give children a much-needed opportunity to play games in their own city.

Currently, Laguna Hills has no sports fields and children must be driven to neighboring communities for games.

“This city was formed to serve its citizens,” said Michael Neill of Laguna Hills Little League. “Our youth deserve athletic opportunities.”

City Council members voted 4 to 1 to approve an environmental impact report on the park’s design and to award a $1.39-million construction contract to Coast Landscape Construction Inc.

Mayor L. Allan Songstad Jr., who has sided with the Nellie Gail residents during the yearlong debate over the park, cast the dissenting vote.

“I think we could build another field just as fast and cheaper somewhere else,” Songstad said.

The park will be built on an 8.7-acre parcel along Rapid Falls Road, immediately west of Cabot Road.

It will have two Little League-size baseball fields with outfields that convert to soccer fields, a tot play area, a 960-square-foot storage and restroom building, a 200-square-foot storage building, a 90-space parking lot, bike racks, a hitching post and a water fountain.

Existing equestrian trails will also be maintained on the site.

Residents opposed to the plan repeated their concerns last week that the park will bring heavy traffic, overflow parking and noise to their community.

In response to their concerns about parking, the City Council directed the city Traffic Commission to consider proposals for posting “No Parking” signs on Cabot Road adjacent to the park; establishing permit parking only on nearby Sundowner Drive, Lone Acres Lane and the north side of Rapid Falls Road; and prohibiting parking on the south side of Rapid Falls Road.

The council also voted, at the request of residents, not to allow lights that would permit night games.

Clarence Becwar, a resident who had said he and his neighbors would take the city to court if the council approved the park, said last week that he had reconsidered.

“As it looks now,” Becwar said, the opposition “is going to die down to a murmur.”