MISSION VIEJO : Saddleback-to-Sea Bike Trail Proposed

Looking to connect Mission Viejo’s wilderness resources to county parks and beaches, city officials have unveiled plans that include a 25-mile biking trail that would stretch from the Saddleback mountains to the ocean.

In addition, the city staff proposes to link hiking trails in Mission Viejo to nearby wilderness areas in Cleveland National Forest and O’Neill Regional Park.

The plans were greeted enthusiastically by city officials during a joint meeting of the City Council, Planning Commission and Parks and Recreation Commission, whose members also discussed a proposal to increase the amounts of parkland dedication required for approval of housing projects.

“The opportunity is just exhilarating,” Councilman Norman P. Murray said of the bike trail. “The bikers in the county will love it.”

The so-called “mountains-to-sea” trail had died on the drawing board in the late 1970s. A county project at that time, the plan ran into obstacles that included winning a right of way from the Aliso Creek Golf Course in South Laguna.

The city now proposes to start the trail at Cleveland National Forest near the base of Saddleback. It would join with passages in Laguna Niguel and San Juan Capistrano before ending at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point.

“We need to provide a trail that will link up with their trails,” said Planning Commissioner Robert Breton, “and apply whatever political pressure we can.”

Mission Viejo recreation official Jim Ball said the trail could be ready for use in three years.

The three groups also agreed to change a current law that requires developers to provide 2.5 acres of park space per 1,000 residents in a new housing tract.

Under the new proposal, that requirement would double to five acres per 1,000 people, or call for cash compensation in lieu of land to finance development of existing park sites.

But with the city about 90% developed, land is especially precious, Breton said.

“You should take the land when you have an opportunity to take the land,” he said.