At a time when south Orange County residents are already seeing an influx in construction-related congestion and traffic along the 5 freeway, Mission Viejo residents successfully fought off a DMV branch that would have been placed in the heart of town.
While the end is in sight for a series of construction projects cutting through South County that have been ongoing since 2019, Mission Viejo residents were loudly critical of a plan to bring a DMV branch to a local shopping center on Crown Valley Parkway.
[Read: What’s With All the Construction on the I-5 Freeway Across South OC?]
At the council’s June 11 meeting, the council voted 4-0 to deny the site to operate as a DMV branch. Councilmember Wendy Bucknum was absent from the meeting.
The city’s Planning and Transportation Commission considered and approved the project on May 13, but a week later, Mayor Trish Kelley and Councilmember Cynthia Vasquez filed an appeal to “evaluate community impacts” from the proposed DMV site.
Residents who came to speak at the meeting explained their fears about the DMV’s proposed location — right next to where Crown Valley Parkway and the I-5 freeway intersect.
“Crown Valley is a zoo,” Mission Viejo resident Amy Balsz said during the meeting. “We are taking on more and more traffic with all the buildings of apartments going up — still not completed and occupied yet — Costco, the hospital, the mall, Kaleidoscope, all the medical buildings.”
“When I drive out to Crown Valley, my shoulders tense up,” Balsz said. “It’s chaos on that street.”
Speakers also expressed concern with student drivers who would be taking their behind-the-wheel driver’s test in this area.
Since a residential portion is required for driver’s tests in California, speakers emphasized their concerns for student drivers navigating residential roads with children present.
“By the time one of these cars comes around by the park and takes out one of these kids or a parent, it’s going to be unforgivable,” a 24-year Mission Viejo resident said during the meeting.
The nearest DMV branch to Mission Viejo is located in Laguna Hills.
In 2023, there were 16,565 drive tests and two accidents at that location, according to DMV data shared by city staff during the council meeting. On a statewide level, there were over 1.1 million drive tests in 2023 and 255 accidents.
“The statistics bear out the facts that drive tests are overwhelmingly safe and free of incident,” said Miles Lemaire, who spoke at the meeting on behalf of the property owner.
“Drivers of any age taking this test are arguably going to be on their best behavior, driving the speed limit and paying strict attention to the road because they want to impress the test administrator sitting beside them so that they can ultimately receive their license,” Lemaire said.
While representatives for the property owner and the DMV assured the council that driver’s tests are safe and rarely result in car accidents, the council sided with the residents.
“There will not be new drivers on these streets only when they’re being tested — they’re going to go practice,” Kelley said during the meeting. “I’m concerned about the location. I’m concerned about the impact on the neighborhoods.”
Council members also voiced concerns that the DMV does not share their routes for driver’s tests with the public, meaning the city would have no say over the routes and no knowledge about which areas of the streets are most affected by student drivers.
A DMV representative at last week’s meeting told council members the department refuses to publish the information in order to prevent student drivers from studying the routes before their behind-the-wheel test.
“We would want to have absolute control over the routes to immediately address any unsafe or nuisance concerns,” Councilmember Brian Goodell said during the meeting.”I can’t really go along with this application for that reason. I just don’t see it having a happy ending.”
Angelina Hicks is a Voice of OC Tracy Wood Reporting Fellow. Contact her at ahicks@voiceofoc.org or on Twitter @angelinahicks13.