Deal May Facilitate Village Entrance Plan

Removing the major barrier to redevelopment of the high-profile corner known as the Village Entrance, the City Council this week agreed to pay $700,000 for a Laguna Canyon lot where the city’s corporate yard could be relocated.

The city’s plan is to build a large parking structure, restaurant and other public facilities at the southwest corner of Laguna Canyon Road and Forest Avenue. The project has been stalled, though, in part because the city had no other place to park its vehicles.

On Monday, the city reached a tentative agreement to buy from the Irvine Co. an 8-acre parcel that includes a 2-acre lot known as the Act V parking lot. The property, which the Irvine Co. has allowed the city to use for public parking, is about half a mile inland from Forest Avenue.

About 5 of the 8 acres could conceivably be used for a city yard and other parking, City Manager Kenneth C. Frank said Wednesday. The remaining 3 acres, he said, would be cleared for a fire break.

The City Council’s approval of the purchase plan must now be ratified by the Irvine Co.’s executive committee, Frank said.

The council also agreed to begin geological testing at the Act V lot and at the Village Entrance parcel to make sure that both sites can be used as intended. The Laguna Beach Planning Commission must also decide whether moving the corporate lot is consistent with the city’s General Plan.

About $1 million of this year’s city budget was appropriated for capital improvement projects, with the Village Entrance in mind, officials said.

The purchase plan will be on the council agenda for final approval Aug. 20. At that time, the city staff will outline a plan to proceed with the Village Entrance project.