Headlands Talks Fail; Issue Goes to Appeals Court

Civil suit settlement negotiations have broken down between the city and developers of the $500-million headlands project, a city attorney said Friday.

“There is no settlement, and both sides will be filing separate statements with the court of appeals,” said Kenneth Rozell, assistant city attorney. “It’s now in the hands of the three justices.”

Dana Point Mayor Karen Lloreda said she was frustrated that the two-year court battle over the hotel and housing development remains unresolved.

“I went into these negotiations hoping that we could reach a solution” for a mutually acceptable development plan, she said. “I think that both sides really made an effort to do that, but we couldn’t find the common ground we were all looking for.”

If the state’s 4th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana declares an impasse, it will issue a ruling on the project within 60 days.

In 1994, the Dana Point City Council approved a general plan amendment for the 121-acre bluff top that called for a 400-room hotel and 370 homes. But voters passed a referendum halting the development.

The owners then filed a lawsuit against the city seeking to overturn the referendum. A Superior Court judge upheld the referendum.

In May, the state appellate court ordered the city and Headlands owners, Chandis Securities Inc. and M.H. Sherman Co., to continue negotiations.

Chandis Securities, which oversees the financial holdings of the Chandler family, is a major stockholder of Times Mirror Co., publishers of the Los Angeles Times.