LAGUNA NIGUEL : City May Name Park for Holocaust Survivor

The City Council will decide tonight whether to rename one of the city’s newest parks after the late Lilly Shapell, a holocaust survivor and wife of the builder who is developing much of the land around the park.

Nathan Shapell’s company, Shapell Industries, donated the .85-acre Little Kite Hill view park to the city.

On a suggestion from Councilwoman Patricia Bates, Mayor Mark Goodman asked that the park be named in honor of Lilly Shapell, to commemorate her survival of the Auschwitz concentration camp and her work on behalf of other holocaust survivors. Lilly Shapell died late last year.

Because there are no city parks named after people, Goodman said, he believes the idea of naming a local park after the wife of a major developer might surprise some people.

“But the reason I felt comfortable bringing this forward is that this was an outright donation by the Shapells,” Goodman said. “I’ve initiated a private drive to buy a plaque saying what she did with her life. If people are walking their dogs or watching their kids play up there, the plaque will be an educational tool.”

Goodman said he was inspired when he read about Lilly Shapell’s humanitarian deeds and wanted to find a way to share them with the rest of Laguna Niguel.