MISSION VIEJO : City Hall Move Appears On Again

Other than a slightly faded paint job and weeds growing in its planters, there is nothing about the exterior of the two-story office complex at 24800 Chrisanta Drive that hints at trouble.

But as suggested by two secret rooms hidden inside the building that are said to have held sensitive files owned by a former occupant, appearances can be deceiving.

Since the City Council first began considering the building as a temporary City Hall last year, its members have changed their minds five times about relocating there, creating an ongoing controversy in the community.

“It’s been pretty bizarre,” said Ben Meharg, a former city planning commissioner. “To say things have become convoluted would not be exaggerating.”

In the last 14 months, the council:

* Voted to buy the property in April, 1990, then reversed that decision in closed session the following week.

* Purchased the 32,000-square-foot building last August for $3.1 million, then voted in February to sell it, despite a depressed real estate market.

* Agreed in March to sell it to a real-estate speculator, then canceled the deal when they discovered that the firm was named in several lawsuits alleging land fraud.

* Decided last month to move into the building after all, saying the move would make good financial sense.

And in yet another twist, as the council recently authorized bids for renovating the facility, City Manager Fred Sorsabal said the council would be financially better off staying in its rented suite of offices at 26522 La Alameda.

At the root of all the confusion are politics and money, according to local political observers.

When the council first agreed in April, 1990, to buy the property, plans for a permanent City Hall were five to 10 years away. With the city paying about $400,000 annually in rent for council offices, a city-owned facility seemed like a good idea.

But the $1.2 million cost of renovating the Chrisanta Drive building drew some criticism, particularly from Councilman Robert A. Curtis, who is now mayor. Nevertheless, the purchase of the building was approved by the council on a 4-1 vote, with Curtis opposing.

Less than two months later, three new council members were voted into office, two of them heavily backed by Curtis. In August, 1990, council members Robert Breton and Sharon Cody joined with Curtis to put the Chrisanta building back on the market.

In separate negotiations, the Mission Viejo Co. had agreed to give the city several acres of graded land near Crown Valley Parkway. Curtis saw the property as the city’s new administrative home.

He talked of building a civic center on the site within 18 months, a goal later stretched to three years. Moving City Hall twice in 18 months didn’t seem like a good idea, and $1.2 million “needed to renovate this dilapidated building would be money badly spent,” Breton said in February.

But after the goal for a new Civic Center was extended to three years, the council last month voted again to take up residence in the Chrisanta building. Moving into the office building “would take the pressure off our time schedule to construct the town center project,” said Curtis.

However, according to a consultant, last year’s $1.2-million estimate for fixing up the property is now $1.6 million. At that price, it would be more cost-effective to continue renting space, Sorsabal told the council on June 10.

But despite Sorsabal’s conclusion, the council decided to go ahead with soliciting renovation bids. Deadline for the bids is in August, when the issue will be taken up again.