Laguna Hills Panel to Move on Plans for Community Center

The city will take its first step this year toward planning a new community center as a task force begins weighing the possibilities.

“We have a void right now, and this will fill the void,” said Councilwoman Cindy Greengold, who with Councilwoman Melody Carruth and Mayor Randal J. Bressette is on the task force.

The first priority, she said, is to have a facility that will meet the needs of all community groups, from senior citizens to teens and children.

“It could be a place where seniors can go in the daytime to shoot a little pool, or we could have a multipurpose room for teens to play basketball, or for theater use,” Greengold said. “There could be meeting rooms, which would be good because we don’t have any right now.”

The city is considering open space at Alicia Parkway and Paseo de Valencia.

Because a creek and bike trail already run through the property, the city would have to meet environmental standards. And there would have to be negotiations with the Saddleback Valley Unified School District, which owns a portion of the site.

“There will be some problems, but we will overcome them,” Greengold said. “This project will not happen overnight.”

The task force will meet monthly to consider its options, and all sessions will be public, Greengold said.