Toll Road Issues Confound Mission Viejo
by Bo Klein

New housing at the Ranch will severely impact traffic in the southern portion of Mission Viejo. The recent lawsuit halting completion of the 241 Foothill-South Toll Road puts Mission Viejo in an additional bind. Mitigation measures agreed upon in 2005 severely limited the amount of money the ranch paid the city – the outcome was inadequate. If the extension isn’t completed, what are the chances the city will get any additional relief when the eventual tsunami of traffic comes this way?

The ranch traffic plan predicted a portion of the traffic would use the 241, not the surface streets, including Crown Valley Parkway. The mitigation money the city received was based on that assumption.

The city of Mission Viejo sued the ranch for traffic mitigation measures in 2004, primarily because the ranch plan was based on inconclusive traffic studies performed by ranch consultants. Estimates for needed traffic improvements in Mission Viejo ranged between $35 million and $75 million. Astoundingly, the city settled for a mere $18 million.

The lawsuit was dropped after Councilmen Frank Ury and Lance MacLean, while serving on an ad hoc committee, negotiated on their own the mitigation measures with the ranch. The ranch jumped on the proposed settlement of $18 million, as opposed to prior estimates of up to $75 million for real solutions. I have yet to hear of any plan in which $18 million would be sufficient to handle the anticipated volume of traffic when the ranch is built out. With the recent development halting completion of the toll road, cut-through traffic coming from the ranch could increase by as much as one-third.

Even in 2005, the shortfall of $50 million would have resulted in long-term traffic problems. The problems are the legacy of Ury and MacLean, who sold out the city in the first place. The politicians have been paid off, the problems still exist, and residents will pay the price.

The question is, if the toll road isn’t completed, is the ranch still qualified to build the same number of homes, or will the county downsize the plan? If the plan isn’t downsized, will Mission Viejo receive additional compensation?