Laguna to Consider Buying 100 Lots for Open Space

LAGUNA BEACH —  Urged on by a roomful of residents who say their rural community is endangered by the threat of development, the City Council said Tuesday it will consider buying up to 100 vacant neighborhood lots to keep as open space.

“We would like to preserve that area and we are going to do everything in our power to make that happen,” Councilwoman Lida Lenney said.

Residents from the Diamond-Crestview area, a steep hillside community of 56 homes, say they are grappling with uncertain futures and plummeting property values because of a court order that opened their neighborhood to development.

The ruling, which was handed down by the 4th District Court of Appeal two years ago, said the city must either see that the roads are brought up to standard or purchase the undeveloped lots from their owners.

Residents have complained that the city, after being defeated in court, turned its attention to pursuing a development plan instead of trying to find ways to buy the lots.

“A lot of us bought up there because it was rustic, it was quiet and we were told those were non-buildable lots on private roads,” said Dave Scharr, a spokesman for the residents. “There’s a lot of bitterness. This has disrupted my entire life.”

After the council’s 4-0 decision Tuesday, some residents reacted with enthusiasm, but Scharr was guarded, calling the vote “a first step.”

“This is the first time they dedicated a dime to what we want, which is to make this thing go away and buy the lots,” he said.

The vote means the council favors acquiring all or most of the undeveloped lots in the rustic neighborhood, where residents raise peacocks, geese and chickens. The city also agreed to spend approximately $15,000 to have the lots appraised.

The question of how the city would pay for the land, or for the new roads, for that matter, is still unclear. Residents, who in the past have taken responsibility for the roads that wind through the hillside neighborhood, filling potholes and lining unpaved roads with trees, have feared they would be assessed to pay for new streets and sewers that would accompany new development.

Owners of the 103 undeveloped lots, however, have said it is unjust for the city to try to prevent them from building homes on their land. Winning the lawsuit dramatically increased property values for the lot owners, many of whom paid about $9,000 for lots that are now valued at $300,000 to $400,000 each.

Regardless of whether roads and sewers are built or the land purchased for open space, Community Development Director Kyle Butterwich said the city will consider a variety of funding sources. A local assessment district is one of the options.

For several months, the city has been holding workshops to prepare a development plan for the area. A consultant has been hired to prepare the environmental impact report. Both documents should be available for public review in by February.