LAGUNA HILLS : Planning Board OKs Scaled-Down Center

After three years and eight public hearings, the County Planning Commission this week approved a controversial 1.4-million-square-foot business center for a plot of open space surrounded by Leisure World.

The plan, approved 4-0 by commissioners Wednesday, is a scaled-down version of a proposal submitted to the county in 1988. To gain approval, the developer, Rossmoor Partners L.P., has agreed to build the center in three phases, with each phase linked to area road improvements. The developer will also include an 18-hole golf course as part of the project if a study shows it is feasible.

The center proposed for Moulton Parkway and El Toro Road must still be approved by the County Board of Supervisors. The Board of Supervisors and the Planning Commission must also consider a zone change for the property.

With such hurdles still on the horizon, planner Ronald L. Tippets said it will probably be at least a year before building begins at the site. “There’s yet quite a bit of planning activity required before they’re anywhere near getting around to construction,” Tippets said.

While opinion about the project is still split in Leisure World, community activists say opposition diminished as the size of the project was reduced. “In 1982 when it was 2.4 million square feet, we had over 12,000 signatures in two weeks opposing the project,” Kirk Watilo said.

Doyle Selden, a board member of the Leisure World Golden Rain Foundation, a residents’ association, said he is encouraged by the planned road improvements and the prospect of an area golf course.

“There’s a tremendous demand in South Orange County for an 18-hole golf course,” Selden said.

Officials in nearby Laguna Beach, however, continue to oppose the project, which they say will worsen traffic on Laguna Canyon and El Toro roads, two main entrances to their city. In addition, they say, rezoning a 173-acre open space parcel for commercial development undercuts recent actions by their city to buy and preserve land for open space.

“I guess what disappoints me most is that area is zoned as open space, and if there’s anything South Orange County needs more than open space right now, I don’t know what it is,” Laguna Beach City Councilwoman Lida Lenney said. “It’s really unfortunate. Developers have the upper hand in South Orange County. There’s no question about it.”

In addition, the project is tied to construction of the San Joaquin Hills tollway, which would run through Laguna Canyon and which the city vehemently opposes.

Members of the soon-to-be-seated Laguna Hills City Council had objected mainly to traffic problems they feared the development would create, said Councilman-elect Randal J. Bressette. With the scaled-back development plan, however, Bressette said he believes that the county has alleviated those concerns. But Bressette said he is not satisfied with the plan approved by commissioners Wednesday.

“I really find it inconceivable the Orange County Planning Commission would chose to build a golf course over the needs of the children and young adults of the Laguna Hills area,” Bressette said. “If they can find 150 acres for a golf course, they can find 6 or 8 acres for recreation facilities for the region.”