Mike Swanson
Ropage Beauty Supply's former residence on Forest Avenue will not
house a similar, out-of-town-owned salon after a 2-2 vote by City
Council Tuesday denied the owner's application for a city permit.
The City Council ruled May 6 that Stanley Sir of Laguna Niguel
needed a permit to open a store Downtown despite city staff's
recommendation that Sir didn't need it. The council ruled in a 2-1
vote that Sir needed the permit because his store didn't carry the
exact product line as Ropage. The Planning Commission then denied
Sir's application for the permit on May 28 because of his business'
similarity to other Downtown businesses.
Councilman Steve Dicterow, who was absent at the May 6 meeting,
opposed denying the appeal along with Councilman Wayne Baglin, but
the 2-2 vote deferred to staff's recommendation to deny the appeal.
If the vote was 2-2 May 6, then Sir wouldn't have needed a permit,
City Atty. Phil Kohn said.
"I've never felt this bad than for the last two or three months,"
Sir said. "I've never felt this unfairly treated. Whether it's that
I'm an outsider or something else, I don't know. Somebody needs to
make a point that everyone deserves to be treated fairly."
Sir said he and the building owner plan to file multiple lawsuits
against the city and against individuals that Sir wouldn't specify.
"They don't allow me to run business to make money, so I'll get
rich without business," Sir said. "I will win, it's just a matter of
how much. Spending money on principles is a good thing. It's good for
my kids to see."
Several Downtown business owners and residents who'd spoken at the
first City Council meeting and at the Planning Commission meeting
returned to stress sticking to the Downtown Specific Plan, which
discourages saturation of like businesses.
Community input against Sir's Beauty and More store again
outweighed support, with Chamber of Commerce President Ken Delino and
Mark Christy, owner of multiple Downtown businesses, among Beauty and
More's dissenters. Their points remained that they're not against
Sir, but want Downtown building owners to think more about the
Downtown Specific Plan than maximizing their rents.
"My rents are some of the lowest on the street," Christy said. "I
have no problem laying down a sacrifice bunt to benefit the team
instead of always swinging for the fences."
Christy and others, including Mayor Toni Iseman, said they would
like to see building owners work harder to attract businesses that
