MISSION VIEJO

A compromise to end the battle over bushes at Lake Mission Viejo was scuttled Monday when the City Council decided to send changes to a proposed law to control landscaping back to the Planning Commission for consideration.

The city has tried unsuccessfully for more than a year to force the Lake Mission Viejo Assn. to remove a stretch of oleanders along the lake’s south shore for fear the plants would grow to screen views from Alicia Parkway. The Planning Commission approved a draft ordinance last month requiring city approval of any landscaping taller than 18 inches at the lake. The association agreed not to contest the new law if the height restriction applied only to landscaping near Alicia Parkway.

Echoing concerns from residents that such changes could still result in blocked views, the council opted instead to continue a moratorium prohibiting the association from altering the landscaping until the new law is passed. The Planning Commission will consider the issue at its next meeting, Jan. 11.