Editing Laguna Niguel, California (section)

===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>