Fried will continue to operate La Vida Laguna at Boat Canyon and if he can figure out how to make it work, he might be back at Treasure Island. In any case Aliso Beach is just down the road, he said.
However, the South Laguna Civic Assn. was elated by the commission’s decision.
“After numerous city hearings on the matter and Councilwoman Toni Iseman’s surprising ongoing support of this precedent-setting commercial operation that violated important conditions of the Treasure Island LCP — which explicitly prohibits commercial operations in the Marine Reserve at Goff Island — and the city’s long standing ordinance regarding commercial activity on Laguna’s beaches, the commission’s decision was a welcome relief to the environmental community that had opposed this impactful concession in a marine reserve since June 2008,” said Bill Rihn, president of the South Laguna Civic Assn.
Fried proposed to stage, rent and launch kayaks, give kayaking lessons and tours, and collect fees on the beach in front of Montage Resort & Spa. He wanted signs to point the way to his business.
City planning commissioners recommended approval of a temporary use permit, but included conditions that Fried found unacceptable and he appealed to the council.
Fried persuaded the council at the April 7 meeting to ignore Planning Commission prohibitions against any monetary exchanges on the beach or in the public Treasure Island Park, and signs, as well as Community Development Director John Montgomery’s warning that the operation was proposed in the Marine Reserve, where only passive activities are allowed.
