Hansen: Awaken the facade of downtown

Downtown Laguna Beach is many things except one: a place to live.

No one knows exactly how many people live in downtown Laguna Beach. It's not tracked by the city, and the census numbers are not that granular. But you can almost count the number of residents on one hand.

Meet Jeff McFarland, 48. He lives above La Sirena Grill on Mermaid Street in a 600-square-foot one bedroom apartment. Single with no children, he admits his place is not for everyone.

"I had to get used to the sounds and the rhythm of the neighborhood, and to be honest, it was a little surprising at first," he said. "But I love it here."

McFarland is an exception. He considers his neighbors the business owners — not other residents because there are none.

In the downtown proper, not counting the low-income housing complex and the few random hillside apartments, there are probably no more than two dozen residents — maybe. There are three very small motel-like rooms above the Envy clothing store, 310 Forest Ave., and there are five nicer units at 243 Broadway St., above the Blue Laguna Salon and Spa.

Why the dearth of residential? Like most things in Laguna, it's complicated.

First of all, we are enamored with the historical downtown ambiance and don't want to change it.

Second, nothing downtown can be higher than two stories.

Third, parking.

In and of themselves, none of these reasons could prevent an enterprising business owner from attempting more residential development, but realistically speaking, it's probably not going to happen, which is unfortunate.

Downtown Laguna Beach is nice but it could be better.

We claim to be progressive but have a terrible live-work model.

We tout support for local businesses but don't provide more flexible zoning rules to optimize variety and land use.

We say we're environmentalists but have done little to foster alternative transportation and sustainability.

Plenty of other small downtowns have done better jobs at balancing history with reality. East Coast communities are much older and savvy at incorporating residential housing amid the grandeur of history.

The fact is, it's a necessity. Many historical districts are not just facades, clamoring for tourist dollars. They are highly functioning communities with supportive residential amenities. Laguna's own downtown specific plan concedes that residents take short shrift.