EL TORO : Council to Consider Land Swap Tuesday

A land swap that would provide residents a community center and playing fields and speed completion of Alton Parkway will be up for initial approval by the Board of Supervisors at its regular meeting Tuesday.

The swap proposed by Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez, who is seeking the board’s “conceptual approval,” involves the Foothill Ranch Co., which will be allowed to build a commercial development on a 73-acre parcel off El Toro Road that is now owned by the county.

Vasquez called the plan a “truly unique opportunity” because it would allow construction of the recreational facilities and completion of Alton Parkway, a major roadway that can divert traffic away from neighborhoods.

Vasquez has proposed exchanging the county’s 73-acre site for Foothill Ranch Co.’s help in building the El Toro/Lake Forest Community Center and playing fields. The proposal also calls for joint parking facilities for recreation areas and nearby Saddleback Community Church, and for the company to construct a low-rise business park.

In addition, the swap would require the company to acquire a portion of land needed by the Marine Corps at El Toro for future base housing. The county wants to complete Alton Parkway, which cuts through Marine Corps property. Instead of buying the right-of-way, the county has reached an agreement with the Marine Corps to have Foothill Ranch Co. acquire land for base housing, and in return the county will be awarded right-of-way for the completion of Alton Parkway.

Commercial development of the 73-acre site would be restricted to preserve the Aliso Creek corridor in its entirety. It is estimated that only about 30 to 40 acres of the site would be developed.

Although the county parcel is an open-space area, Vasquez said he has been advised by the county Environmental Management Agency that the area’s natural open-space value is “extremely limited” because of the planned extension of Portola Parkway and other access roads.