Sports-Recreation Complex Wins Council Approval

Site plans for a $18.6-million project that will make this the first South County city to build its own large-scale community center were approved Tuesday by the City Council.

Almost two years in the planning, the 18-acre sports and recreation complex at Alicia Parkway and Paseo de Valencia will become a community gathering place, city officials said.

“This is going to be the focal point of Laguna Hills,” Councilman Joel T. Lautenschleger said. “I love being in the forefront of a community center project.”

Among the center’s facilities:

* A 10,000-square-foot library. Laguna Hills is the only city in Orange County without its own library.

* Two baseball fields and two soccer fields.

* A 15,400-square-foot community center with public meeting rooms.

* A 15,100-square-foot gymnasium.

* Picnic areas and tot lots.

* A 12-acre wetland area.

* A skate park for skateboarders and in-line skaters.

“Every part of the community center is needed, from the ball fields for kids, to the community meeting rooms to the open-space area,” Lautenschleger said. “I’m very excited about it.”

The council will schedule two community workshops on the center as the planning process moves forward. The first meeting will be sometime in August.