The Orange County Vote : Outcome in Dana Point Uncertain Pending Tally of Final Absentee Ballots : Results: With all precincts counted, only 69 votes separate top 4 in race for 3 council seats.

In a race still too close to call Wednesday, Toni Gallagher, Karen Lloreda and Harold R. Kaufman appear to have been elected to the Dana Point City Council, an outcome reflecting the community’s division over the Headlands development plan.

Gallagher was the top finisher with 2,604 votes, followed by incumbent Councilwoman Lloreda with 2,576 and Kaufman with 2,555. Three council seats were open.

Although all voting precincts have been counted, final absentee ballots and write-in votes remain to be tallied. The final count could change the election results, as Ernest A. Nelson and Bill Shepherd were right behind the apparent winners with 2,535 and 2,416 votes, respectively.

With only 69 votes separating the top four finishers, none of the candidates Wednesday were declaring victory or conceding defeat.

“There could still be a complete shift in these results,” said Nelson, who was narrowly defeated in a similarly tight council race in 1992.

Nor were many conclusions to be drawn for those who regarded this year’s council vote as a precursor to an upcoming referendum on the controversial $500-million development proposed for the Dana Point Headlands. The council-approved plan, calling for a 400-room hotel and 370 homes on the 121-acre Headlands peninsula, will be the subject of a citywide vote in November.

Gallagher, a founder of the Save the Headlands group and an outspoken opponent of the development, finished first--but was followed closely by Lloreda and Kaufman, who support the plan.

Gallagher on Wednesday sharply criticized last-minute campaign spending by the Concerned Taxpayers of Dana Point political action committee, a group sponsored by the owners of the Headlands peninsula, Newport Beach-based M.H. Sherman Co. and Pasadena-based Chandis Securities Co.

(Chandis Securities, a firm that oversees the financial holdings of the Chandler family, is a major stockholder in Times Mirror Co., which publishes the Los Angeles Times.)

“I see the whole election as a battle between local residents and enormous, megabuck outside interests,” said Gallagher, who lives on the Headlands and, under conflict-of-interest rules, wouldn’t be able to vote on the issue as a council member.

“I’m very concerned about these outside interests trying to buy our City Council election,” Gallagher said. “I hope the people in Dana Point will wake up and realize the huge special interests are what we have to fight in the future.”

Dan Daniels of Laguna Beach, the president of M.H. Sherman Co., said his company has owned property in Dana Point for more than 50 years and is not an “outside interest.”

“I don’t consider ourselves out-of-towners,” said Daniels, adding that he has lived near the Headlands for 22 years. “We have a significant investment in Dana Point and are very interested in a well-run city government. We are pleased we were able to help Karen Lloreda and Howard Kaufman and we believe they are very qualified candidates . . . but we offer our congratulations to all the successful candidates and look forward to working with all three of them.” According to City Clerk Sharon Waits, the Concerned Taxpayers group spent nearly $11,500 in the last few days before the election on mailers supporting Lloreda, Kaufman and Shepherd.

Despite months of debate about the Headlands, and a petition drive to put the referendum on the ballot, only about 30% of the city’s registered voters came to the polls Tuesday.

“I think the most disappointing outlook was the poor turnout,” said Lloreda, a Capistrano Beach resident. “There evidently wasn’t a huge interest or a big concern about the Headlands or any of the other issues. People were not so unhappy that they showed up in droves to vote.”