Laguna Sues County Over Subdivision

A proposed residential development that has pitted Laguna Beach and Orange County against each other for the last year ended up in court Friday when the city charged that the county’s approval of a 108-unit subdivision on county land adjacent to the city violated state law.

The city claims in a Superior Court lawsuit that the county and its Board of Supervisors violated the California Environmental Quality Act by relying on an inadequate environmental impact report in rezoning the 471-acre site on Dec. 19.

Though the property, called Laguna Heights, is in an unincorporated county area, the developer, Carma-Sandling Group of Irvine, had first applied to Laguna Beach for zoning approval. But citing concerns that the development would increase traffic down Park Avenue through the center of the Laguna Beach High School campus, the City Council said it would approve only 70 lots.

Saying a 70-unit subdivision would not be economically feasible, Carma-Sandling instead went to the county for approval.

The county approved the plan after the developer agreed to dedicate 443 acres of the land as open space. The 108 units would be constructed on the remaining 28 acres.

City officials have contended that they would have to provide many services yet receive no revenue from the project. They have so adamantly opposed the development that they have vowed to block a city street that is the only access to the property.

The suit seeks a court order setting aside the zoning change and the board’s certification of a draft environmental impact report as “adequate and complete.”