Laguna Niguel : November Vote Slated on Services District

The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Wednesday to place the issue of a community services district before the area’s voters in November.

The proposed district would provide such services as parks and recreation, slope maintenance, street sweeping and lighting--all now provided by the county. A locally elected board would oversee the district and have discretionary control over more than $4 million in annual property tax revenues.

Voters in Mission Viejo approved a similar measure last November, but a move to put the issue on the June ballot in Laguna Niguel foundered because of opposition from coastal residents, many of whom wanted to form their own services district.

The coastal faction in February successfully appealed to the county Local Agency Formation Commission to reopen public hearings on the boundaries of the proposed district, after the commission had already approved a unified Laguna Niguel district.

But earlier this month, the commission voted again to keep all of Laguna Niguel virtually intact, removing from the proposal just three small communities--Monarch Bay, Emerald Ridge and Dana Woods.

A community services district is sometimes called a junior city, as it provides some, but not all, of the services of a city and is often a steppingstone to full incorporation.