I knew something strange was going on
Thank you Barbara Diamond for your Our Laguna expose, "Plenty of
room to complain," (Coastline Pilot, July 30). I had thought it was
me or maybe the new car I got in May.
But you give concrete (asphalt?) proof that it's not just me or my
car. It's the free-form relining of the spaces.
BOBBI COX
Laguna Beach
Are the parking spaces along Ocean and Forest avenues at their
original location? Yes, they are. Are they narrower than they were
before? Yes, they are, and here is why.
The angle has changed, making them narrower. The locations of the
end of the stripes at the curb are fixed. Making the angle relative
to the curb more acute narrows the distance between the parallel
lines.
This can easily be tested by attaching two strings to any straight
line and moving the loose ends of the strings and by keeping the
strings parallel to each other. The closer the loose ends of the
strings come to the straight line projected by the two fixed points
of the string, the narrower the space becomes between the strings.
Try it, and you will find that the city is right in their
assertion that the locations of the parking spaces have not changed.
But the city is wrong in claiming that their widths have not changed.
A re-striping to the old configuration would be necessary to widen
the spaces to their former size.
PETER WEISBROD
Laguna Beach
Hanauer put on quite a show for council
Whatever one thinks about the parking issues associated with the
Pottery Shack, one cannot help but be impressed by the performance of
Joe Hanauer -- the developer of the Shack. Through a combination of
bluster and charm, and helped by the lateness of the hour, Hanauer
artfully maneuvered a majority of the council into supporting what he
was requesting. That decision was not at all certain.
There was a discussion of the significant parking problems already
in the area, and there was sympathy expressed for the way these
problems would be exacerbated by this project. Finally, there was
talk of sending the project back to the Planning Commission with
instructions to require from four to 10 more parking spaces.
After threats characterized as "a reality" that his proposal was
the best the city could hope for, Hanauer then agreed that he could
perhaps squeeze out a few more spaces. But by the time the council
figured out that the concessions he would require in the way of
additional square footage left them worse off than his original
proposal, gone were any ideas of sending the project back to have
