Shrubs Stir Debate Over Lake View
An eight-year-old controversy will be revisited at Monday’s Planning Commission meeting, when officials will decide whether a row of shrubs planted along Lake Mission Viejo will block views of the private lake.
Residents complained to City Hall last month when they saw that the Lake Mission Viejo Assn. had planted rows of plants along the south side of the lake beside Alicia Parkway.
Community Development Director Clint Sherrod saw the shrubs and told association officials that the planting violated city regulations--a law passed by the City Council in 1989 to prevent the association from building a wall in the same place.
Association officials moved the shrubs farther from the lake’s shore, but Sherrod rejected the replanting, saying the bushes can grow 10 feet or higher and still screen views.
“This landscaping is going to be mammoth,” said W.W. “Tex” Shannon, who led the 1989 fight against the lake wall. “You will not be able to see any portion of this lake.”
Association officials could not be reached Friday for comment.
The Planning Commission will meet at 7 p.m. at City Hall, 25909 Pala. Information: (714) 470-3000.
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