Judge Rules Against City; Bushes by Lake Spared

The yearlong fight is over, and the shrubs stay.

An Orange County Superior Court judge recently overturned a city order requiring removal of a 1,500-foot stretch of oleander and calliandra bushes along the south shore of Lake Mission Viejo.

The City Council in January ordered the removal, saying the shrubs could grow to obstruct lake views for pedestrians and motorists along Alicia Parkway.

Planning commissioners and council members cited a 1989 ordinance designed to stop a wall from being built where the shrubs now grow.

But Judge John C. Woolley ruled last week that the shrubs do not constitute a “screen” that could be regulated by the city’s ordinance.

Bill Schwartz, general manager of the Lake Mission Viejo Association, said the group always planned to trim the oleanders to prevent any views from being blocked.

He said he hopes the ruling will allow the city and the association to resolve past differences and develop a new relationship. “It took a lot of time and money on both ends, and we don’t really want to go through it again,” Schwartz said.

About 22,000 private homeowners pay a monthly fee to maintain the private 124-acre artificial lake and the surrounding landscaping.

City officials couldn’t be reached for comment Friday.

For its 20th anniversary, the association plans to renovate much of the vegetation surrounding the lake. Junipers at Alicia and Marguerite parkways will be removed Monday and replaced with more drought-tolerant plants.