California Coastal Commission

Opponents of the "Mar Vista" project have executed a successful end run around the city and scored a victory with the California Coastal Commission. The commission instructed staff members at its May meeting to prepare a full public hearing on the validity of an appeal of the project. Commission staff is aiming for the June 14 to 16 meeting. The city has issued a coastal development permit among other approvals of the project. "City staff still takes the position that the project is not appealable," Development Department Director John Montgomery said.

At long last, Charles and Valerie Griswold will be allowed to build a home on the Bay Drive property they have owned since 1965. The California Coastal Commission approved the project on Aug. 7, which should close the book on one of the sorriest chapters in Laguna’s history of neighborhood conflicts. “We are absolutely thrilled,” Charles Griswold said. “It has been a long time coming.” The project has been in the works since 1997, a woeful history of plan reviews and revisions, a building permit revocation and reinstallation, further marred by accusations of fraud and dishonest conduct and litigation.

The state Senate Rules Committee's refusal to reappoint Councilwoman Toni Iseman to the California Coastal Commission is, as she says, a personal defeat for her. But it is much more than that. Iseman was the only Orange County resident sitting on this very powerful panel, which oversees all development along the state's 1,100-mile-long coastline, an area of some 1.5 million acres, including 15 counties between the Oregon and Mexican borders. The Iseman case points up two problems with the Coastal Commission.

Thousands are expected to return to Del Mar on Sept. 22 for the appeal of the California Coastal Commission?s rejection of an extension of the 241 Toll Road though an ecological preserve and a state beach. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will conduct the appeal in the O?Brien Hall at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, where the Coastal Commission hearing drew an estimated crowd of more than 3,500. NOAA is an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department charged with the conservation and management of coastal and marine resources.

Councilwoman Toni Iseman was notified June 22 that she would not be reappointed to the California Coastal Commission, a position she had held for more than two years. Iseman was one of the state Senate's four appointees, two of whom must be elected officials. Iseman's seat was filled by Manhattan Beach City Councilman Jim Aldinger, who will serve as the commission's South Coast representative. Iseman's replacement came on the heels of sharp criticism from leaders of the Sierra Club and the Surfrider Foundation, who declined to endorse her reappointment, questioning her commitment to the environment, based on their "report card" of commissioners' votes.

Laguna’s beaches will still be closed from 1 to 5 a.m., but more activities will be allowed if the City Council gives final approval to changes in the curfew ordinance proposed at the March 2 meeting. Restrictions on beach activities approved by the council in November and the city’s position that the curfew did not require a coastal development permit had been challenged by the California Coastal Commission. City and commission staffs worked together to make revisions in the ordinance that both agencies could support.

What a disappointment for beachgoers, after the concessionaire of the ill-fated Sand Café was effectively warned off a plan to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner at Aliso Beach year round. After spending the money to build a new snack bar/restroom facility farther from the water ? leaving more space open for sunbathers near the shoreline ? the county is apparently back to square one in finding an operator for the brand-new, never-opened eatery. And the public is on the verge of again being denied a common and necessary beach amenity for the third year in a row. The concessionaire, who signed on after a lengthy bureaucratic process, is ready to throw in the beach towel.

Many are cheering, and some jeering, a recent California Coastal Commission decision that opens up thousands of potential development projects to possible state review through the appeals process. The issue at hand is watercourses, or streams. The Coastal Commission decided that they will take appeals of city-issued permits for all projects that are within 100 feet of a stream or "drainage course." It appears the commission is seeking to end-run the city's local coastal plan jurisdiction by changing the rules in mid-stream, as it were.

After some give-and-take on both sides, Laguna Beach may one day finally have its long-sought Village Entrance and bona fide Arts District -- and the city hopefully can provide improved conditions for its hard-working employees. With the City Council's approval of a plan for the Act V remote parking lot project -- see that story on page 1 -- all systems are "go" for a project that began a decade ago with the Village Entrance Task Force. This citizens' group met for months in the mid-1990s to craft a complicated plan to move some city facilities eastward in order to make room for a welcoming area in town for the thousands who flock to Laguna for the arts, the beaches and the scenery.

Patio smoking up to business owners Re: Proposed ban on cigarette smoking on patios. Leave things alone. If you don't like something, don't go there. People that own establishments should make their own rules. JAMES WARD Rancho Santa Margarita Coast panel gives checks and balances Re: Should the California Coastal Commission take preemptive appeals of proposed development projects? (Question of the Week, April 20 Coastline Pilot) The whole reason for the citizen's initiative that led to the Coastal Act was that local cities were making choices clearly not in the best interests of the California citizens.

The California Coastal Commission will hold a hearing Sept. 15 in Eureka to determine whether the city's approval of a coastal development permit to sub-divide Laguna Terrace Park is valid. The Laguna Terrace property owner has petitioned the Orange County Superior Court to block the commission from assuming control of the project. "I haven't decided yet whether to ask the court to prohibit the September hearing, but I don't think it would make any difference because if the court rules in our favor, it would nullify any action taken by the commission," said James Lawson, general manager of the upscale mobile home park in South Laguna.

Name: Kelly H. Boyd Age: 66 Birth place: Santa Ana How long have you lived in Laguna Beach? 66 years   Occupation: owner of Marine Room Tavern since 1987   Education: graduate of Laguna Beach High School, attended Orange Coast College, attended USC and at the time I reduced my course units, I was drafted and served in the Army in Vietnam. I furthered my education in the restaurant industry by working and managing local establishments.

The California Coastal Commission decided Friday to take up on appeal the redevelopment of the Coast Inn and the loss of the Boom Boom Room gay bar at a future hearing. Acting at the request of Commissioners Sarah Wan and Mary Shallenberger, and Laguna Beach activist Audrey Prosser, the commission decided that the proposed project raised "a substantial issue" with respect to the provision of visitor and tourist-serving facilities on the coast. The property, at 1401 S. Coast Hwy., is situated between the sea and the first public road in the city's designated Commercial/Tourist Corridor, according to a commission staff report.

The California Coastal Commission decided Friday to take up on appeal the redevelopment of the Coast Inn and the loss of the Boom Boom Room gay bar at a future hearing. Acting at the request of Commissioners Sarah Wan and Mary Shallenberger, and Laguna Beach activist Audrey Prosser, the commission decided that the proposed project raised "a substantial issue" with respect to the provision of visitor and tourist-serving facilities on the coast. The property, at 1401 S. Coast Hwy., is situated between the sea and the first public road in the city's designated Commercial/Tourist Corridor, according to a commission staff report.

Laguna Terrace Park went to court rather than deal the California Coastal Commission on a proposal to subdivide the parcel and let residents buy the land on which their mobile homes sit. The park owner has petitioned the court to block the commission from assuming jurisdiction over the proposed conversion to a resident-owned park and prohibit it from challenging a coastal development permit, which the city approved and declared unappealable....

I am a homeowner on Bluebird Canyon Lane. I was born in South Coast Hospital and grew up in Laguna. Next year my 5-year-old is starting at Top of the World Elementary School, my 11-year-old is starting at Thurston Middle School, and my 14-year-old starts at Laguna Beach High School — home of the fighting Artists (inside joke). Skateboarding is part of my culture. The young men in this town earn their stripes surfing third reef Rockpile and second reef Brooks Street.

The following is from the July 20 City Council meeting. EXTRAORDINARY BUSINESS The council recognized the achievements of the AYSO Spring Select Soccer Team that won the national championship in the 13- to 14-year-old age group, which had 24 entries in the tournament. AYSO has almost 1,000 players in all age-groups in Laguna Beach, but due to vacations, only 11 were available and eligible to compete in the city's entry in the 13 to 14 category, the exact number of players required on the field.

Residents of Laguna Terrace Park applauded Tuesday night when the City Council gave conditional approval to subdivide the property so tenants would eventually be allowed to own the land under their mobile homes. The council voted 4 to 1 to adopt a resolution that conditionally approves a modified tentative tract map of the property and the coastal development permit, which is expected to be challenged by the California Coastal Commission. City Manager Ken Frank explained the tract map would creative individual parcels.

Councilwoman Toni Iseman announced Monday that she will be running for reelection, and all three Board of Education incumbents — Ketta Brown, Betsy Jenkins and Theresa O'Hare — have filed papers seeking reelection to their seats. Iseman is seeking her fourth consecutive term on the council. "With the economic challenges and the changes in personnel at City Hall, a real working knowledge of the city is invaluable," Iseman said. She sees the selection of a new city manger and working with the selection as central to the city's well being in the next few years.

Aliso Beach concessionaire Michael Weiss hoped to get California Coastal Commission approval of amenities for which he once thought he had permits. Those hopes were dashed by a letter to Orange County Parks Director Mark Denny from the commission staff giving Denny until today to respond to the commission threats to take legal action to resolve the placement of storage containers on the sand and the removal of vegetation on the beach without official approval. The letter requested removal of the containers by July 16. "I have been told that I cannot get a permit to have the containers on the sand," said Weiss, who was awarded the lease for the Sands Café and concession stand by the county.