Housing Project Pits 2 Neighboring Cities : Development: With nearby residents fearing runoff trouble, Laguna Beach opposes 22-home hilltop plan that Laguna Niguel has approved.

LAGUNA BEACH — In a move that may set the stage for a legal battle between neighboring cities, the Laguna Beach City Council has decided to challenge the approval of a controversial hilltop development in Laguna Niguel.

“The city of Laguna Beach is full of a bunch of socialistic anti-property rights people who basically want to steal property from people,” Laguna Niguel Mayor Mark Goodman scoffed Wednesday.

Goodman was reacting to the Laguna Beach council’s unanimous decision Tuesday night to challenge Laguna Niguel’s approval of the Coastal Development Permit for the 22-home project and, if that fails, to consider suing Laguna Niguel over the issue.

The decision, reached in session, followed an emotional three-hour public hearing attended by about 120 residents from the south end of Laguna Beach who packed council chambers, urging the city to “go to bat for us,” as one person said.

The residents believe Las Vegas casino owner Jack Binion’s development will cause mudslides, flooding and landslides in their community. After a five-year struggle for development approval, Binion finally got the nod from the Laguna Niguel City Council last week.

Laguna Beach city leaders maintain they have for years voiced their concerns to Laguna Niguel officials, but that some issues have not been adequately addressed. Laguna Beach City Councilman Wayne J. Baglin said Wednesday he feels the development could have a “disastrous impact” on area homes.

“I totally regret having to get into any battle with a neighboring city,” Baglin said. “And I certainly don’t want it to be felt that it’s city council members against city council members.”

The Laguna Beach council also unanimously agreed late Tuesday to help pay for a separate lawsuit that South Laguna Civic Assn. plans to file over the project’s environmental impact report.

Resident Michael Beanan, who has helped lead the battle against the project, praised the city’s action and even welcomed Goodman’s criticism.

“That’ll help with our fund-raising efforts,” Beanan said. “Every time he goes off, we get more donations.”

Most project opponents say they do not seek to prevent development but want the homes moved back from the edge of the ridgeline onto a flatter area, so less vegetation would be removed from the hillside. The loss of vegetation would destabilize the hillside, they say.

Laguna Beach officials fear the development could worsen already troublesome runoff problems in the area.

But Laguna Niguel planners and Binion’s consultants maintain the plan--which already has been reduced by 10 homes--includes sufficient mitigation measures for runoff. Laguna Niguel City Manager Tim Casey said Wednesday the project “has been analyzed to death.”

While Laguna Beach officials say they are particularly concerned about the health and safety of their residents, Mayor Kathleen Blackburn said other issues should also be addressed, including development setbacks on the hillside and the area’s sensitive natural plant life.

“We feel the Local Coastal Plan has not been adhered to,” said Blackburn, who lives in the affected area.

Increasing the likelihood of a lawsuit between the two municipalities, a spokesman for the California Coastal Commission said that Laguna Niguel’s approval of the Local Coastal Permit cannot be appealed to the state agency, because it does not fall into an area over which the commission has appeal jurisdiction.

While Laguna Beach continues to explore what Blackburn called every “administrative and judicial remedy” available, Goodman gave no indication Laguna Niguel is ready to backtrack.

“They want to drive alone in their Mercedes up Laguna Canyon Road,” Goodman said. “They want everybody else to be an environmentalist, and they’ll sue you if you’re not.”