Parking Structure

Regarding The Old Pottery Place: The "Shack" is gone, but the "Place" has proudly taken its place. Thank you to the owner, the City Council, Planning Commission, Design Review Board, the planning commissioners and all the involved and supportive neighbors who shared our vision and quest to save this historic icon of Laguna. The alternatives were horrendous for me as a citizen and architect: a hotel developer, a shopping center developer, a drugstore chain and others approached me. The current owner and developer, Joe Hanauer, shared my concerns and was the only one who was willing to contribute back to the town.

The City Council has reversed its fast-track course for the Village Entrance project. Additions to the Village Entrance Environmental Impact Report (EIR) mean the public and city officials will get a second bite of the apple. The council voted unanimously Tuesday to submit individual lists of items to be added to recommendations from the planning commission and stakeholders for consideration at the April 17 meeting. The amended report will be recirculated for public review and comment.

The city is turning 80 this year, but age is relative. The "state of the city" of Laguna Beach is, in a word, hectic. That was the message from Mayor Toni Iseman at the Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce's "State of the City" luncheon, held Tuesday at Tivoli, Too. Iseman said she has noticed a higher level of intensity and emotion since she took over the mayoral post in December, the second time she has served in the honorary position....

Where do the employees park? In one of the very many requests for an amendment or change in the conditional-use permit being issued by the City Council to the Old Pottery Place, it seemed that the subject of parking was brought up many times. It seemed as though there was a question as to the adequacy of the number of spaces to be provided. In one of the last of these sessions, the developer and his architect agreed to include a two-level parking structure, and one of the provisions set down by the City Council was that the parking would be available to employees and patrons on a first-come, first-served basis to reduce the impact of the added intensification of activity in a highly impacted neighborhood.

The Laguna Beach Planning Commission wants to know more about the proposed Village Entrance project before making a decision on it. Planning Commissioners voted unanimously Jan. 24 to hold a special public hearing Feb. 21 on the Village Entrance draft environmental impact report. After being briefed on the report, commissioners concluded that more information was needed in order for them to make recommendations, and that sufficient time should be set aside for their discussion and public testimony.

Serving the public interest is the main job of the City Council, according to Mayor Toni Iseman . And that is not always easy, Iseman told a friendly audience Monday at the first Laguna Canyon Conservancy Dinner of the New Year. City officials have to decide how to serve all of the public: residents and visitors. "My heart belongs to the residents," Iseman said. "But we can't be piggy. We love our visitors, we just don't love their cars." The city would go bankrupt providing enough parking spaces to accommodate all the summer visitors, she opined.

Tuesday was the first opportunity for folks to get a gander at the draft environmental impact report prepared for the long-awaited Village Entrance project. The public review period will continue through March 2, but a snappy response will be needed for comments to be included in the record at the Planning Commission hearing on Jan. 24. "It is safe to say that the Planning Commission might decide to hold a second hearing at the end of the comment period when the public has had a sufficient amount of time to study the document in detail," Planning Commissioner Norm Grossman said.

Laguna Art Museum Director Bolton Colburn effectively shelved an ambitious proposed building plan at the Village Entrance site near City Hall during the museum's annual membership meeting Tuesday. He and other officials also spoke of the museum's various ups and downs over the past several years. After sharing the museum's goal to establish itself as the premier American museum with a focus on California art, Colburn said that the primary requirement for that goal was "building."

Laguna Presbyterian Church officials will ask the city to approve a master plan for the repair and restoration of the buildings and campus and add the sanctuary to the Historical Register. The five-phase project for the 85-year-old church in downtown Laguna Beach could take 20 years to complete and cost an estimated $15-to-$20 million, depending on whether enough additional property can be purchased on Third Street to build a parking structure. The Planning Commission has been asked to hold a rare concept review in mid-October with a request for the conditional-use permit to follow within two months.