Editing Laguna Niguel, California (section)

==History==

===Early inhabitants and settlers===
The first recorded inhabitants of the Laguna Niguel area were the [[Juaneño|Acjachemem]] Native Americans, who may have had a village called "Niguili" near the confluence of [[Aliso Creek (Orange County)|Aliso Creek]] and [[Sulphur Creek (California)|Sulphur Creek]].<ref name="LNhistory" /> Aliso Creek marked the boundary between the Acjachemem and [[Tongva people]]. In the 1700s, during the [[Spanish colonization of the Americas]], Spanish missionaries established the nearby [[Mission San Juan Capistrano]] to convert the Acjachemem to Christianity. The Mission lands, which included the present-day boundaries of Laguna Niguel, were divided into private [[Ranchos of California|land grants]] in 1821 upon [[Mexico]]'s independence from Spain.

In 1842, the {{convert|13316|acre|ha|adj=on}} [[Rancho Niguel]] was granted to [[Juan Avila]]; he retained ownership of the land through the [[Mexican–American War]] (when California became part of the United States) until 1865, when a severe drought forced him into bankruptcy. In 1895 Lewis Moulton and Jean Pierre Daguerre bought the Rancho Niguel and other portions of the surrounding area from farmers who were struggling due to persistent drought conditions. The Moulton Company was established to oversee {{convert|19000|acre|ha}} of local land which was used, mainly for orchards and sheep ranching, well into the mid-20th century.<ref name="LNhistory">{{cite web|url=http://www.cityoflagunaniguel.org/index.aspx?NID=388|title=History and Statistics|publisher=City of Laguna Niguel|access-date=July 25, 2016}}</ref> In 1951 the land was divided between the Moulton and Daguerre families, the latter inheriting {{convert|8056|acre|ha}} in the future location of Laguna Niguel. In 1954 the Daguerres sold {{convert|7200|acre|ha}} to the Shumaker Group and 
[[File:Laguna Nigel City Limit Sign.jpg|thumb|Laguna Nigel City Limit Sign]]
{{convert|856|acre|ha}} of oceanfront to [[George Capron]], a former Major League Baseball player who established the Capron Ranch.<ref name="niguelshores">{{cite web|url=http://niguelshores.org/Niguel%20Shores%20History.pdf|title=Niguel Shores - A History|publisher=Niguel Shores Community Association|access-date=July 25, 2016}}</ref>

===Laguna Niguel Corporation===

The completion of [[Interstate 5]] in 1959 enabled easy access to job centers in Los Angeles County, creating a boom in the Orange County housing market. In 1959, [[Cabot, Cabot & Forbes]] and [[Paine Webber]] partnered to form the Laguna Niguel Corporation, which purchased the Daguerre land to develop one of California's first master planned communities. Cabot Road and Forbes Road were named in legacy after the company. The initial {{convert|7100|acre|ha|adj=on}} town plan was created by Viennese architect [[Victor Gruen]] and expanded beginning in 1971 by [[AVCO]] Community Developers after they acquired the Laguna Niguel Corporation.<ref name="LNhistory"/><ref name="niguelshores"/><ref>{{Cite news| issn = 0362-4331| last = Hammer| first = Alexander R.| title = AVCO UNIT TO GET SHARE OF LAGUNA; $19-Million Transaction Set by the Two Concerns| work = The New York Times| access-date = October 14, 2016| date = October 14, 1969| url = https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B07E1D9123CEE34BC4C52DFB6678382679EDE&legacy=true|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The name of the city was created from "Laguna", a reference to the tidal lagoon that once formed at the mouth of Aliso Creek, and the name of the Acjachemem village Niguili that once occupied the area. As the city would be developed in stages, ranchers and farmers signed annual leases with the Laguna Niguel Corporation to use the land until the planned communities were built.

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In contrast to a traditional [[bedroom community]], Laguna Niguel was designed so that "families should have most of their economic needs and their social and cultural interests met by facilities within the community".<ref name="niguelshores"/> The plan was also notable for its emphasis on parks and open space – comprising nearly a third of the land to be developed. The Laguna Niguel Corporation went public in April 1959 and raised an initial $8.2 million from investors. In 1962 the first tracts of Monarch Bay and Niguel Terrace were completed, consisting of 565 homes.<ref name="niguelshores"/> In 1960, the Moulton Niguel Water District (which today serves all of Laguna Niguel) was established by a conglomerate of ranchers, to import water from the [[Colorado River Aqueduct]] as the area lacked a sufficient natural water supply.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mnwd.com/facts-and-figureshistory/|title=Facts, Figures and MNWD's History|publisher=Moulton Niguel Water District|access-date=July 28, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160731061342/http://www.mnwd.com/facts-and-figureshistory/|archive-date=July 31, 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1964, Crown Valley Parkway was completed from I-5 to the Pacific Coast Highway, facilitating transport through the growing city.<ref name="niguelshores"/> By 1965 the population of Laguna Niguel reached 1,000.<ref name="ocregister">{{cite news|url=http://www.ocregister.com/articles/niguel-650970-laguna-city.html|title=Laguna Niguel: Looking back at our heritage|newspaper=Orange County Register|author=Yee, Christopher|date=February 11, 2015|access-date=July 25, 2016}}</ref>

The Laguna Niguel Homeowner's Association was formed in 1966 as an advisory to the [[Orange County Board of Supervisors]] (which governed the unincorporated community). In 1973 [[Laguna Niguel Regional Park]] opened to the public. The [[Chet Holifield Federal Building]] (a local landmark popularly known as the "Ziggurat"), designed by [[William L. Pereira]], was constructed for [[Rockwell International]] in 1971 and was meant to bring 7,000 jobs to the area.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.ocregister.com/articles/building-676265-ziggurat-government.html|author=Lemas, Matt|title=The Ziggurat: How a white elephant became a county landmark|newspaper=Orange County Register|date=August 22, 2015|access-date=July 25, 2016}}</ref> It was traded to the US [[General Services Administration]] in exchange for industrial facilities elsewhere.<ref name="GSA">{{cite web|url=http://www.gsa.gov/portal/ext/html/site/hb/category/25431/actionParameter/exploreByBuilding/buildingId/1284|title=Chet Holifield Federal Building, Laguna Niguel, CA|publisher=U.S. General Services Administration|access-date=July 25, 2016}}</ref>

===Incorporation and conflict with Dana Point===
[[Image:Sulphur_Creek_1975.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Laguna Niguel Regional Park]], 1975]]
In 1965 the Laguna Niguel Corporation had purchased George Capron's oceanfront property and began to develop the Niguel Shores neighborhood, known in its early days as the "Coastal Strip" and today as [[Monarch Beach]]. By the 1970s, unincorporated [[Dana Point]] began expressing interest in including the Niguel Shores in a new city. In 1977 Dana Point briefly proposed incorporation with Laguna Niguel as a single city. Both cities submitted incorporation requests in December 1986, when a controversy immediately erupted over the coastal Monarch Beach community. Although Monarch Beach had been developed by the Laguna Niguel Corporation, its residents voted 61&nbsp;percent in favor of joining with Dana Point.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Annexation|author=Pike, Elizabeth|journal=Orange Coast Magazine|pages=99–105|date=June 1988|volume=14|number=6|issn=0279-0483|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=92AEAAAAMBAJ}}</ref>{{rp|103}} Laguna Niguel filed a lawsuit, which was ultimately turned down by a judge. Laguna Niguel was formally incorporated on December 1, 1989, without the coastal strip, as Orange County's 29th city.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.danapointtimes.com/its-history-a-rough-road-to-cityhood/|title=It's History: A Rough Road to Cityhood|author=Olvera, Carlos N.|work=Dana Point Times|date=January 4, 2014|access-date=July 25, 2016}}</ref><ref>Walker, Doris I..  "Laguna Niguel".  Included in:  Orange County Historical Commission. (2004). ''A Hundred Years of Yesterdays: A Centennial History of the People of Orange County and Their Communities''.  pp. 169-172.</ref>

===Incorporated city===
The population increased quickly during the last few decades of the 20th century, from 12,237 in 1980 to 61,891 in 2000. Growth since 2000 has been slower, with an estimate of 65,806 in 2015, due to the fact that the city has been fully built out.<ref name="DecennialCensus"/> In 1992, Alicia Parkway was completed to I-5, providing a shorter route for northbound commuters; in 1996 the [[California State Route 73|73 San Joaquin Hills toll road]] opened, linking Laguna Niguel to the [[Interstate 405 (California)|Interstate 405]] in [[Costa Mesa]]. The Laguna Niguel City Hall, which had been planned as early as 1989, finally opened on October 15, 2011.<ref name="ocregister"/>

In 1994 local residents first noticed damage to [[retaining wall]]s and roads near an artificial slope on Via Estoril in the Niguel Summit community, and geologists warned that the area could be subject to a landslide. After heavy rains caused by the [[1997-98 El Niño event|1997–98 Super El Niño]], the hill collapsed on March 19, 1998, destroying 5 or 6 homes at the top and five condominium units at the bottom. There were no deaths as the area had been evacuated only a few hours prior to the collapse. An investigation revealed that the company responsible for development, J.M. Peters Inc., had improperly packed and graded the 275,000 tons of fill supporting the Niguel Summit homes.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-sep-12-me-21868-story.html|title=Laguna Niguel Slide Destroys 7 Dwellings|author1=Ourlian, Robert |author2=Messina, Frank |work=Los Angeles Times|date=March 20, 1998|access-date=July 25, 2016}}</ref> In addition, the project had been plagued by instability throughout its construction, and halted repeatedly "after complaints of mudslides, slope washouts, erosion and dust."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-apr-12-mn-38689-story.html|title=Niguel Summit Project Troubled From Start|work=Los Angeles Times|author=Ourlian, Robert|date=April 12, 1998|access-date=July 25, 2016}}</ref> The ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' reported that "according to county records, the developers were warned that building on "ancient landslides" could be unsafe, but they were able to continue construction after producing their own geological report that persuaded county officials to let the project go forward."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-sep-12-me-21868-story.html|title=Niguel Summit Landslide Case Settled|author=Garvey, Megan|work=Los Angeles Times|date=September 12, 1998|access-date=July 25, 2016}}</ref> However the most recent disaster to the Niguel Summit Subdivision has been the coastal fire in 2022 which flattened 20 homes and damaged many more. This fire started after problems and circuit activity was reported on a Southern California Edison short distance electricity tower in Laguna Beach.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fry |first=Hannah |date=May 12, 2022 |title=Laguna Niguel residents return to ruins: '30 years' worth of memories' consumed by fire |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-05-12/laguna-niguel-residents-return-to-ruins-30-years-worth-of-memories-consumed-by-fire |access-date=May 13, 2022 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref>