LAGUNA BEACH : City Denies Claims From Two Groups

The City Council has rejected two claims filed against the city--one from a group of fire victims and another from seven Police Department employees whose personal conversations at work were taped without their knowledge.

As is usually the case with such claims, the council unanimously rejected them without comment. Often such claims are a prelude to a lawsuit.

The claim by El Morro Mobile Home Park fire victims was the first to be levied against the city since the October blaze, which damaged or destroyed more than 400 homes in and around Laguna Beach.

The 21 victims are asking for a total of more than $880,000 from the city. They contend that Laguna Beach failed to properly inspect or maintain land around their homes or to provide a sufficient water supply or an adequate fire-suppression plan.

The police employees’ $10,000 claim involves the discovery in January that some workers’ personal conversations were being taped. The Orange County district attorney’s office is also investigating that matter, which police officials say resulted from faulty equipment.

In other action Tuesday, the council unanimously agreed to begin formal discussions with the state regarding the possibility of creating a soccer field on a strip of state-owned land behind El Morro Elementary School. Proponents say the field is sorely needed, because the sport’s popularity has mushroomed and Laguna Beach has only one field. That field, at Moulton Meadows Park, is not regulation size.

The panel also voted 5 to 0 to buy 17.5 acres in the Canyon Acres area for $102,000 to preserve as open space. The purchase was made possible because of a recent agreement between the city and Laguna Beach County Water District that allows the district to build a 3-million-gallon reservoir in the Top of the World neighborhood.

As part of that agreement, the district will pay the city between $174,000 and $550,000, depending on a judge’s decision.