Land Fiasco--Council Is at Fault

With regard to Laguna Niguel’s lost 96 acres, I tend to believe the statements by James Krembas and Taylor Woodrow that no impropriety was involved. It looks to me like just plain bungling incompetence and lack of communication on the part of our City Council.

It isn’t Taylor Woodrow’s fault that the council gave them our land. All they did was ask for it. As devious as their ploy may have been, the ultimate responsibility lies with the council to ferret out any tricks before signing a land deal.

My kids often try to sneak things by me (double desserts, prolonged TV time, etc.). It’s just a child’s nature; there’s nothing surprising about it, but it’s my job as a parent to notice the infractions and enforce the rules. So it is for the City Council. It is simply the nature of developers to want as much land as they possibly can get, and they may very well be cagey in how they attempt to acquire it.

The council members, like a parent, just need to wake up to that fact and pay very close attention to the proposals that come before them.

It may not be ethical, but it isn’t illegal for a developer to be sneaky.

I have no sympathy for Krembas’ lament that the documents and issues are very complex. If it’s that much of a struggle, he is obviously not qualified for the job entrusted to him.

I read now that a volley of lawsuits are going to be fired back and forth. Great. The lawyers will be the only real winners. Do the citizens of Laguna Niguel really want to pay for another prolonged court debacle after the interminable Monarch Beach/coastal strip fight?

As a new city, let’s not immediately squander all our resources and attention on these legal battles. They are beginning to seem like little more than indignation at having been outsmarted.

I would prefer to see the council concentrate on preserving what we have left of Laguna Niguel and spending some money where it will really do some good--intensive training seminars for all current and future City Council members on how to effectively and responsibly run a city as well as how to read and understand all those complex documents.

Assuming that no criminal misconduct will be found on Taylor Woodrow’s part, a logical solution to the problem would be: (1) give the current residents of Marina Hills peace of mind as to full and clear title to their property; (2) let Taylor Woodrow finish building the homes they have started, and (3) have them either give back the remaining unbuilt acreage to the public trust or transform it into a park.

The City Council should chalk up the land loss to gross negligence on their part and take their lumps like grown-ups.

CATHY LEVIN

Laguna Niguel