No sleeping with the enemy

Barbara Diamond

Councilwoman Cheryl Kinsman doesn’t love the Transportation Corridors

Agency, but she proposed Tuesday that the city should seek a closer

relationship to protect its own backside.

The agency is supporting the construction of a road tunneled under

the Santa Ana Mountains between Orange and Riverside counties that

would dump onto Laguna Canyon Road. The council declined to establish

closer ties to the agency, but voted unanimously to appoint a

subcommittee to investigate what can be done to thwart the tunnel’s

proposed terminus.

“This tunnel will bring traffic directly down [Laguna Canyon Road]

to Laguna Beach,” Kinsman said. “The idea is picking up steam, and we

don’t have a seat at the table.”

The city has never had a seat at the TCA table. The city opposed

the construction of the San Joaquin Hills toll road and declined to

join the agency, the only South County city through which that toll

road passes to take that position.

The tunnel is a project of ROC-Link Inc., formed to establish the

feasibility of the concept and to conduct analyses of technology,

design and financing. Kinsman said the Municipal Water District of

Orange County endorsed the multipurpose tunnel in October and is

urging other utilities to join the endorsement.

“I think we have to get to the TCA board members and supervisors,”

Councilwoman Elizabeth Pearson said.

Opponents of the San Joaquin Corridor spoke against joining the

agency that designed and built the toll road.

“Most of [the council knows] I was active in opposing the toll

road, so when I heard you were considering joining the TCA, I felt as

if I was being turned inside out,” former Mayor Lida Lenney said. “I

have worked with the TCA, and what I know is that it is not

individual cities that make the decisions. It’s staff. “

Critics of the city’s decision to boycott the agency have claimed

that membership might have resulted in a toll road design that was

less of a blight in Laguna Canyon.

Laguna Canyon Conservancy President Carolyn Wood disagreed.

“If you look at the history of the agency and consider the TCA’s

track record, you will find that individual member cities have had a

difficult time convincing the TCA to honor their requests,” Wood

said.

Kinsman said the decision to boycott the agency might have been

appropriate 12 years ago, but she believes that now is a propitious

time for the city to consider membership.

“I was always opposed to the TCA and I don’t know if a time will

ever come that I am not,” North Laguna resident Don Knapp said.

“However, it looks like we have a loaded gun pointed directly at us.

Probably, it is time for people like me to drop their objections to

the TCA and get on board.”

Membership could prove costly for the city and for residents,

conservancy President Wood said.

Membership would make the city subject to agency requirements,

including fees levied on construction.

Effective July 1, the fee for a single-family residence would be

$3,767, according to Wood’s figures. A multifamily unit would cost

$2,195 more.

Councilman Wayne Baglin said TCA support for the tunnel is a boon

to opponents.

“I favor taking a position against the tunnel,” Baglin said, “but

I am also pleased we will not be carrying their water or ask them for

help in any way.”