POLL: What Should Become of The Old Courthouse Property?

Known for its lush green hills, winding streets, wide thoroughfares and beautiful overall surroundings, there is unfortunately, one eyesore in Laguna Niguel.

It's called the former South Justice Center and it sits dormant behind the brand new, estimated  Laguna Niguel Patch photographer Barton Mac Leod's photos shown above, offer a glimpse into what has since happened at the site. From knee-high weeds to boarded up buildings, isn't it time we do something about the ugliness left behind?

In January, True North Research presented the results of its 2011 Resident Satisfaction Survey at the Jan. 3, City Council meeting. In a nutshell, the results were favorable for the city, with 98 percent of the residents reporting quality of life as either excellent or good.

The survey was conducted on 400 randomly selected Laguna Niguel registered voter households and was designed to gauge general perception of city performance, satisfaction with city services, and importance of those services while identifying areas for improvement. 

One of the questions was what they wanted to see in the  area. Here are the results:

• About 88 percent supported entertainment uses such as music and arts.

• About 65 percent supported county and other government offices.

• About 62 percent supported restaurants.

• About 47 percent supported retail stores.

• About 47 percent supported commercial offices.

• About 36 percent supported mixed-use (residential mixed with office, retail and restaurant businesses).

• About 21 percent supported a hotel.

• About 20 percent supported condominiums.

• Twelve percent supported apartments.

Patch wants to ask those who were not part of the group asked what they would like to see in the area. Take our poll below and/or tell us in comments.