Gated Communities Orange County

The Planning Commission voted unanimously this week to approve a redesign of the guard house and entry area for the Monarch Point neighborhood. For more than three years, the Monarch Point Homeowners Assn. has been designing, redesigning and seeking communitywide consensus on the plans. "It took a long time," Tom Murphy, vice president of the homeowners association, said with a sense of relief.

After a decades-long struggle to win approval for a 121-acre gated community of 118 homes and a resort on a commanding bluff in Dana Point, developers made extraordinary concessions for public access, including four access points and an inclined railway called a "funicular" that shuttles visitors to a secluded beach known as the Strand. But now that the bluff-top lots, marketed as the "last undeveloped oceanfront property" in Southern California, have started to sell for as much as $12 million, locked metal gates have gone up and signs posting hours have appeared at the top of the stairways: "Coastal Access (Limited to Sidewalk)

When the millennium bells ring, Leisure World may be no longer. The gated retirement community, which is home to 18,000 residents, could change its name before Jan. 1, said Tanya McElhaney, Leisure World's communications manager. Members of Leisure World's governing bodies decided to investigate a name change when new trademark restrictions began limiting the use of the words "Leisure World," especially on its Web page.

The Planning Commission voted unanimously this week to approve a redesign of the guard house and entry area for the Monarch Point neighborhood. For more than three years, the Monarch Point Homeowners Assn. has been designing, redesigning and seeking communitywide consensus on the plans. "It took a long time," Tom Murphy, vice president of the homeowners association, said with a sense of relief.

Coto de Caza residents Wednesday struck down plans to erect a public elementary school within their gated community, a proposal that opponents argued would have threatened neighborhood safety and privacy by allowing the public inside the gates.

Pacific Bay Homes LLC, a Newport Beach-based builder of luxury homes, has received national recognition for its One Ford Road project, a gated community of 374 homes. The development was declared "Master Planned Community of the Year" and received several other honors last week at the National Assn. of Home Builders awards ceremony in Dallas, one of the nation's largest competitions for new homes. The builder tried to imitate the look of an established neighborhood.

After a decades-long struggle to win approval for a 121-acre gated community of 118 homes and a resort on a commanding bluff in Dana Point, developers made extraordinary concessions for public access, including four access points and an inclined railway called a "funicular" that shuttles visitors to a secluded beach known as the Strand. But now that the bluff-top lots, marketed as the "last undeveloped oceanfront property" in Southern California, have started to sell for as much as $12 million, locked metal gates have gone up and signs posting hours have appeared at the top of the stairways: "Coastal Access (Limited to Sidewalk)

Pinkerton's Inc., the private security industry giant, has announced it has acquired Bonafide Security Service Inc., a regional firm based in Santa Ana. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition will "expand our presence in the gated community segment of the security market" in Southern California, said Denis R. Brown, president and chief executive officer of Westlake Village-based Pinkerton's.

The private security industry's giant, Pinkerton's Inc., said Thursday that it has acquired Bonafide Security Service Inc., a regional firm based in Santa Ana. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Bonafide, which provides uniformed security officers, patrols and alarm-response services primarily to commercial clients and gated communities in Orange County, had estimated 1998 revenue of nearly $4 million.

As Easter weekend approaches, bunnies are in peril in some Orange County communities, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday by two animal rights groups. The Animal Protection Institute and In Defense of Animals are suing the state Department of Fish and Game, saying the agency failed to enforce a law that says wild rabbits may not be poisoned.

Pacific Bay Homes LLC, a Newport Beach-based builder of luxury homes, has received national recognition for its One Ford Road project, a gated community of 374 homes. The development was declared "Master Planned Community of the Year" and received several other honors last week at the National Assn. of Home Builders awards ceremony in Dallas, one of the nation's largest competitions for new homes. The builder tried to imitate the look of an established neighborhood.

When the millennium bells ring, Leisure World may be no longer. The gated retirement community, which is home to 18,000 residents, could change its name before Jan. 1, said Tanya McElhaney, Leisure World's communications manager. Members of Leisure World's governing bodies decided to investigate a name change when new trademark restrictions began limiting the use of the words "Leisure World," especially on its Web page.

Coto de Caza residents Wednesday struck down plans to erect a public elementary school within their gated community, a proposal that opponents argued would have threatened neighborhood safety and privacy by allowing the public inside the gates.

As Easter weekend approaches, bunnies are in peril in some Orange County communities, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday by two animal rights groups. The Animal Protection Institute and In Defense of Animals are suing the state Department of Fish and Game, saying the agency failed to enforce a state law that says wild rabbits may not be poisoned.

LOOKING BACK, A LOT OF what has happened to California in the last few decades was foretold in a little-noticed report issued 24 years ago, in September 2006.