MISSION VIEJO : 2 New Potential Sites for Roller Hockey Center Studied

After a previous attempt to find a roller hockey site ended in controversy, the city is zeroing in on two other potential locations for the sport facility.

City officials said Monday that they are negotiating with the Mission Viejo Co. on exchanging city approval rights for developing a strip mall for land or money that could be used to build a roller hockey rink.

The two sites being discussed as possibilities are a 2.5-acre parcel on El Toro Road near Marguerite Parkway, where Mission Viejo Co. wants to build a shopping center; and a 4.5-acre plot at Jeronimo Road and Los Alisos Boulevard.

“We want to see if there is a way to satisfy the roller hockey needs in the community,” City Manager Dan Joseph said. “The demand for roller hockey is growing by leaps and bounds, and people are clamoring for places to play.”

The city had favored Applegate Park at Olympiad Road and Alicia Parkway for a hockey center, but residents of the area protested, saying their neighborhood would be clogged with traffic. Faced with intense opposition, the city decided to look elsewhere.

City officials say the Mission Viejo Co. wants to satisfy open space requirements for a commercial and retail development it is proposing at El Toro Road and Marguerite Parkway. Under state law, for each project, developers must set aside a certain amount of property for open space or pay its cash equivalent.

Talks with the city are focused on how much land or cash would be exchanged for the development’s open-space requirements.

Joseph said the city is still in touch with Breakaway Skate Center of Newport Beach, the company that had proposed to build a three-rink roller hockey center at Applegate Park.