Laguna Woods

Laguna Woods became Orange County's 32nd city on March 24, 1999, after local residents voted to incorporate. About ninety percent of the city consists of Laguna Woods Village, a private gated retirement community, formerly known as Leisure World. The other ten percent consists of businesses, some homes, and the city hall, which are accessible to the public. Incorporation efforts in the late 1990s were largely driven by the need for residents to have a stronger voice against the prospective construction of an international airport at the nearby decommissioned Marine Corps Air Station El Toro. The airport proposal was defeated, and the land in question has been tabbed for development as the Orange County Great Park.