Headlands Zone Plan Will Be Discussed

The Dana Point Headlands, an expansive 121-acres that is among the last large undeveloped coastal parcels in Southern California, will be the subject of a public meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday at City Hall.

The site has been controversial because of a large planned development that was rejected in voter referendums. Also, the property is home to the Pacific pocket mouse, which is on the federal endangered species list, and the threatened California gnatcatcher.

An appellate court upheld the two 1994 voter referendums blocking a plan for a 400-room hotel, a commercial center and up to 370 homes at the site. The court, however, affirmed the owners’ rights to use the land, holding that the city had to either allow some development or compensate the landowners.

In April, the state Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal by the landowners.

The property is owned by M.H. Sherman Co. and Chandis Securities Co., a firm that oversees the financial holdings of the Chandler family, a major stockholder in Times Mirror Co., which publishes the Los Angeles Times.

Thursday’s meeting comes in response to a letter from the Irvine law firm of Hewitt & McGuire, which contended that the city’s delay in drawing up a specific zoning plan for the Headlands constituted an illegal taking of the property without compensation for the landowner.

The meeting is to begin preparation for a new specific zoning plan for the property, said Daniel Bott, Dana Point’s project manager for the Headlands.

The meeting will be held at City Hall, 33282 Street of the Golden Lantern. For information, call Daniel Bott or Deborah Zaun, administrative secretary, at (714) 248-3564.