Located in south Orange County ten miles from the Pacific Ocean, the City of Laguna Woods is one of California’s most recently incorporated cities. The City features a population of approximately 17,000 residents with ninety percent of the City’s four square miles being contained within the senior citizen gated community of Laguna Woods Village.

To enhance and preserve over 171 acres of natural open space while greatly increasing the available recreational amenities of the community, the City of Laguna Woods along with the cooperation of the Irvine Company proposed to annex approximately 171 acres of open space within its jurisdictional boundaries. This area, commonly referred to as the Laguna Laurel Reorganization, is located adjacent to State Highway 133 and is known for its vast hiking trails and expansive view corridors.

In December 2006 the City of Laguna Woods selected Hogle-Ireland, Inc. to prepare an application, complete the environmental analysis, and carry out a community outreach program for the annexation of the Laguna Laurel area. Led by Paul Ireland with Keith Carwana completing the day-to-day project tasks, the Hogle-Ireland project team met with County and City representatives to evaluate potential issues and gain a clear understanding of each jurisdictions future vision and objectives for this area. As a result of these meetings Hogle-Ireland modified the project to include an additional six acres within the City’s Sphere of Influence (SOI) to create a more logical extension of the City’s boundaries.

A complete application was submitted to the Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) in October 2007 and unanimously approved in May 2008. The annexation of 171 acres of natural open space has greatly increased the City of Laguna Woods natural, ecological, scenic, and educational amenities providing residents and visitors of the community with a myriad of recreational opportunities.