LAKE FOREST : Deputies to Patrol Some Private Streets
Some of the 18 miles of privately owned streets maintained by the Lake Forest II Homeowners Assn. will be patrolled by Orange County sheriff’s deputies because of traffic problems caused by commuters using the community as a shortcut, the City Council has decided.
The council agreed in a 3-1 vote last week to patrol selected streets in the Lake Forest II community.
Mayor Ann Van Haun abstained because she lives in Lake Forest II. Councilwoman Marcia Rudolph voted against the resolution because it singled out the area from other homeowners’ associations. However, the council said other homeowners’ groups could request similar enforcement measures. Another 50 miles of streets in Lake Forest are privately owned.
Because an extra traffic enforcement unit was included in this year’s budget, the action will not increase expenditures. But police resources will be stretched thinner, officials said.
The city’s traffic division has four deputies and one community services officer.
Representatives of Lake Forest II have said that speeding motorists constantly drive through their residential neighborhood and also disobey stop signs, a claim that will be investigated by city staff.
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