City Owes Public Fair Shake

It’s always sad when government forgets that its main job is supposed to be serving the public. Somehow, Laguna Niguel City Hall got matters twisted around and is convinced its duty lies in protecting real estate sales.

The city is pushing a bill, SB 1500, that would change the disclosures that homeowners in landslide zones must make when selling property. Here’s what a state Senate analysis says about the bill that’s supported solely by Laguna Niguel and the state Board of Realtors:

“Laguna Niguel states that it is concerned that the owners of residential property ... will be required to disclose, upon sale of their property, that property is located in a seismic landslide hazard zone, which will adversely affect a prospective sale.”

The city’s original idea was to change state maps showing seismic hazards, eliminating any land where city-approved work had been done to make the land safer. But remediation doesn’t always mean property owners are safe from hazards, as many residents throughout Orange County have found at great personal cost after their houses cracked or slipped down hillsides.

That plan failed, so the bill was amended to tell prospective buyers that, well, yes, this property is on the landslide map, but work might have been done to fix that and you can go look up more information on state documents or spend money to hire a geologist.

The Department of Conservation, which puts out the maps, screamed foul, pointing out that the documents are impenetrable to all but experts, and that the information might have nothing to do with the development in question. The agency also asks why people should spend money for information that the local planning department should be providing for free.

Now the bill, which has reached Gov. Gray Davis’ desk with a push from the state Board of Realtors, has been amended again to tell people that they also could go ask the city planning or building department for more information.

At this point, SB 1500 is a marginally acceptable bill. It’s not wrong to let people know that land might not be as hazardous as it seems at first glance and direct them to more information. The maps themselves are old and their reliability also has been challenged.

Buying a home is a frighteningly expensive proposition these days, yet many people put more consumer research into buying a car. Home buyers need to get all the information they can before committing most of their life’s wages to a slice of land topped with stucco and a tile roof.

One of the main jobs of public agencies is to obtain and disseminate good information, not to mention protect the common welfare. Laguna Niguel City Hall would be properly stern if it learned that a homeowner had done major renovation on a house without required permits. The value of the house and the safety of its residents rest on homeowners’ giving that information to the city. The city has the same responsibility to give information that affects property values and safety back to the public.

No other city in California has joined Laguna Niguel to support this bill. No other city seems to have a problem giving consumers public information even if it doesn’t help local property values.

Laguna Niguel needs to remember that it already has an important job as a government. It doesn’t need to moonlight as a real estate agent.