Bette Anderson

When Laguna Beach resident Bette Anderson’s husband Ken suffered a severe stroke in 2009, his convalescence involved months in nursing care in San Juan Capistrano and Laguna Woods as well as a stint at home requiring 24-hour help.

For the months her husband, in his 80s, was in the nursing homes, Anderson made the daily out of town trek to visit him.

“I would have gone on that way forever, because I loved him so much,” she said of her husband, who died two years ago. Though Anderson praised Laguna as “a wonderful caring community,” she noted the absence of care options for seniors.

The number of seniors 65 and older now rose by a third over the last decade and now make up 18 percent of the town’s population, a figure predicted to increase to 40 percent by 2020, according to census figures. The trend, coupled with stories like Anderson’s, prompted the Planning Commission last month to recommend that the City Council establish a city task force to investigate housing options for seniors, including low-income units and assisted living arrangements, as well as policies to attract home health care services and transit for the older population

Planning commissioner Robert Zur Schmiede went even further, urging city officials to create a funding mechanism to subsidize the development of low-income housing or an assisted living facility.

Since the beginning of the year, city staff has been working with the Planning Commission and the Housing and Human Services Committee to refine policies and strategies in the city’s housing plans covering the next eight years, a state mandated update due by Oct. 31. Two public workshops provided direction in preparing the update.

Key issues emerged in a report presented last month by principal planner Carolyn Martin: limited housing options and related services for the city’s burgeoning senior population, lack of permanent supportive housing for the long-term homeless population and lack of affordable housing for younger families.

A sense of urgency seemed to coalesce around the dearth of licensed home care options for seniors and low-income housing for seniors, artists and young families alike.

To avoid running afoul of anti-discrimination laws, the few federally subsidized units in town that exist, such as the Vista Aliso apartments, can’t give priority to Laguna Beach residents, pointed out Chris Quilter, a board member of Laguna Beach Seniors, which operates the Susi Q Senior Center.

Locals whose housing needs shift as they age often must move away to find suitable housing they can afford, he said. “How do we serve people who have helped make this town the place we love and who are running out of money?” Quilter asked.

Recent priority shifts responding to the changing demographics and testimony from advocates like himself give him a glimmer of hope. “They are really starting to pay attention to this,” Quilter said.

Even so, the advisory housing plan falls short of proscribing coherent actions to effect change, Planning Commission chair Norm Grossman pointed out, a sentiment shared by commissioner Anne Johnson.

The recommendations require approval by the City Council.

Commissioners, though, seem bent on paying more than lip service to a state requirement. If the community believes in making policy to benefit less fortunate populations, “then I think the city needs to kind of put its money where its mouth is,” said Zur Schmiede, advocating for identifying and growing a local funding source to subsidize development of long-term, extremely-low to moderate income housing. “We own it. We control it. We’re not at the mercy of the state,” he pointed out.

Given the physical constraints of a built-out community, adding affordable housing creates a challenge. Even so, some city policies already aim to create a more conducive environment for would-be developers of affordable housing, such as the recently amended second residential unit ordinance. These units no longer require Design Review Board approval, the minimum lot size has been reduced to 6,000 square feet, and only one on-site parking space is required.

Local governments possess multiple tools — regulatory, administrative and financial — to encourage the development of affordable housing, said housing expert and planner John Douglas, a Santa Ana consultant hired by Laguna to investigate the strategies of other cities.

While Laguna already uses some techniques, such as fee reductions and project fast-tracking, others such as allowable density and building heights remain unexplored, he said.

For example, instead of relying on the current calculation of “dwelling units per acre” regardless of unit size, city policy could use the “equivalent dwelling unit” or “EDU” model, Douglas said. Here, an average size unit would count as one EDU, larger units would be counted as more than one EDU, and smaller units would be counted as some fraction of an EDU. For example, such a system might allow three affordable studio apartments to replace one pricier large apartment.

Downtown resident Michael Hoag suggested an unusual idea: allowing boarding houses that share some facilities such as kitchens and bathrooms, which could provide developers an incentive as they would be less costly to build.

Mixed-use zoning is another affordable-housing tool, which some planning commissioners favor.

Promoting residential use on the second floors of commercial properties, perhaps through relaxing parking requirements or allowing studio apartments to replace larger ones, could help boost more affordable housing stock, pointed out realtor Bob Chapman, a former commissioner.

“Now is the time to review this with everything that is going on,” said Chapman, referring to city policies on parking, transit and downtown development also under review.

Laguna will open the insurance brokerage service contract to bids on Sept. 1 for a new contract effective Jan. 1.

City staff originally recommended renewing the contract with New York’s Willis Risk and Insurance Services for two years, through Dec. 31, 2014, by placing the item on the council’s consent calendar for non-controversial matters last month. The issue drew opposition from two union representatives at a time when labor negotiations over wages and benefits with city employees are underway.

John Latta, of the Orange County Professional Firefighters Association, and Larry Bammer, president of the Laguna Beach Police Employees’ Association, vehemently protested the renewal and the lack of consultation with employee labor unions.

“We’re in a negotiation year and this is a fundamental issue that we’ve negotiated in the past,” Bammer said at the time, questioning why city staff did not convene a so-called health care task force, comprised of union representatives from each of city’s three employee groups, before moving forward on a matter that so keenly affects their members.

Moreover, since medical insurance costs have been rising, other options might offer more savings, said Latta, equally disgruntled over firefighters’ exclusion from the decision-making process.

Scott Diederich, president of the Laguna Beach Municipal Employees’ Association, did not respond to calls asking for comment.

Council member Steve Dicterow also expressed dismay that competitive bidding would not routinely be sought. The council voted 4-1 earlier, with Mayor Kelly Boyd dissenting, to put the benefits brokerage contract out for bid.

Nevertheless, since the broker usually begins negotiating contracts with medical insurers in June, city staff asked the council Tuesday to postpone seeking broker bids until the fall and in the meantime renew their contract with Willis until the end of the year. That way Willis can smoothly negotiate contracts as well as provide the city assistance in navigating any Affordable Care Act mandates, personnel services manager Barbara Salvini said.

Salvini pointed out that Willis, which receives a capped $87,500 a year commission, was selected in a competitive bid in 2010, a move resulting in a $36,000 cost savings over the previous broker. The broker proved valuable in many ways, such as when Blue Shield quit Irvine’s physician group Monarch Health Care and Willis was able to preserve patient relationships with individual physicians, she said.

Neither Latta nor Bammer was present Tuesday due to conflicts, but Latta delivered his rebuke to the council by letter.

Reached by phone prior to Tuesday’s vote, Latta disagreed with the decision to delay the bidding process. By allowing Willis to negotiate contracts with insurers for the coming year’s premiums, employees will be locked in regardless of whether a new broker is assigned the task in January, Latta said. Moreover, if Willis loses the bid in the fall, it might erode their enthusiasm for ongoing contract negotiations through the year-end, he said.

The unions prefer exploring other options beyond a broker, such as a medical trust or benefits offered by Calpers, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, Bammer said earlier. Brokers sometimes offer a fixed repertoire of insurance providers, which limits options available to employees, he said.

The Orange County Fire Authority, for example, administers their own medical trust to manage contracts with health care providers, rather than a broker, Latta said. “We believe there may be an opportunity to do some things that are a little more innovative and perhaps provide the same level of care, but at a reduced cost,” he said.

While Laguna’s employee contracts agree to task force conferences to review health plans, the city attorney felt the benefits broker was not subject to the meet and confer process, the staff report accompanying Tuesday’s agenda bill said. Other health-care insurer options, such as self-administered medical care and Calpers, had been discussed previously with the health care task force, the report said. It also noted that Laguna rejected relying on Calpers because of a mandatory subsidy for retiree medical coverage.

Even so, cities of Dana Point, Newport Beach and Laguna Niguel all tap Calpers for employee medical coverage. The latter turned to Calpers for employee health benefits in 1998 because of “more choices at a better value than using a brokerage,” said Pam Lawrence, Laguna Niguel’s deputy city manager.

Niguel’s staff shared Laguna’s concern for the risk of a mandated subsidy for retiree medical coverage, Lawrence said, but discovered a method to limit the city’s exposure.

“At the end of the day, this is part of the contract that every employee has with the city,” Latta said. “It behooves all of us to work cooperatively to find the best deal.”

“Please stop the chainsaw massacre of the ficus trees in the downtown area,” said Pamela Goldstein, blunt in her entreaty. Ocean Avenue’s aesthetic appeal will take 50 years to recover, she said.

Seven of the trees in question had been deemed hazardous and slated for replacement as part of a routine sidewalk repair project, while three others fell under the ax as a result of a plan to renovate 222 Ocean Ave. into a restaurant.

Nine tree-lovers offered impassioned testimony lamenting the hewn trees, entreating council members to consider other sidewalk safety remedies and to give more public notice before removing any more.

“I never realized how emotionally attached I am to the green canopy,” said Barbara MacGillivray. Uneven sidewalks fail to outweigh the “irreplaceable landscape value” of the trees, she said, pointing out the felled ficus trees were planted in 1955, prior to Eucalyptus becoming the city’s official city tree in 1967.

“Can’t we talk about preserving this arboreal heritage?” she implored, earning applause for her subsequent suggestion that black banners be wrapped around trees doomed in the future to give residents a chance to intervene.

Ruben Flores, owner of Laguna Nursery, said that even though ficus trees were not his favorite, “they are here, and they are huge, and they give a beautiful mass of foliage.” He also raised a question about the city’s intention of replacing landscaping before summer, not the optimal planting season, he said.

“My parents actually moved here because of the trees,” attested Greg MacGillivray, who believes that people prefer Laguna over nearby coastal cities because of its visual beauty, owed in part to trees.

“These trees matter to me very much,” said Hallie Jones, a Laguna native now raising her own children here. “It pains me to see them go.”

Only Eleanor Henry defended the city’s action, describing her exasperation over routing wastewater lines every three months because of a root-invading ficus tree on her friend’s property.

In response to skepticism over safety issues, Mayor Kelly Boyd noted that the city has paid $300,000 in the past five years in settlements involving trip and fall claims.

Though city staff determined that the replacement of eight trees deemed hazardous did not require a design review hearing, council member Toni Iseman requested the project to be considered by the full council on April 9. At the time, Flores pointed out a rare eucalyptus specimen among those to be cut, which was spared.

The council voted to remove three other trees at 222 Ocean Ave. on April 23 when they approved permits for the property’s renovation.

All of the trees are to be replaced, though the species has yet to be selected.

On the subject of notification, City Manager John Pietig noted that the tree removals did come before the council, but Iseman pushed for better notification. While she intervened to place the sidewalk tree removal  project before the council, tree cutting at 222 Ocean Ave. moved ahead with little public notice. “People had no idea that approval of the historic building would result in the removal of three trees,” she said.

Revenue sources that account for most of the $48.5 million general fund – taxes on sales, property and hotel occupancy — are on the rise, according to the proposed budget released last week. Yet costs of city services are also rising, and at a faster rate. Projected revenues exceed spending by $622,900 in 2013-14, but that gap is expected to narrow to $293,000 for the 2015-16 fiscal year, the document says.

A public workshop and hearing on the budget will be held at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, May 21, in council chambers. The document is available at the city’s web site.

The budget factors in some village entrance costs, as well as large and small capital improvements, such as a $50,000 trial round-about for the complete streets initiative. Even so, the proposed budget maintains current services and reserves while allowing for increasing retirement and healthcare costs and anticipates increased costs of general liability claims.

Pietig noted that the revised 10-year capital improvement plan includes an allocation of $5 million over two years for the planned village entrance project, with the price paid in postponing renovations to the city’s recreation building and fire stations. A separate financing plan is anticipated for the estimated $40 million village entrance project.

The budget includes $100,000 towards renovation of the high school tennis courts, $285,000 for improvements to the community pool, and $800,000 to replace beach access stairs at Oak Street and Mountain Road.

The proposed operating and capital improvement budget is $68.5 million for 2013-14 and $67.5 million for 2104-15, while the city’s primary operating fund is $48.5 million in 2103-14 and $49.6 million in 2014-15.

Pietig pointed out that the proposed budget does not account for a number of requests or needs, such as funding for an anticipated view preservation program, which might cost as much as $300,000 a year.

Jim and Mimi Healey of Bounty Way volunteered their diminishing ocean view as an example to the city committee drafting a new view ordinance. Photo by Mitch Ridder

A committee charged with drafting a new view ordinance for Laguna Beach modeled on an effective and court-tested one in Rancho Palos Verdes continues to wrestle with provisions they deem unsuitable here.

At its most recent meeting this past Tuesday, where attendance mushroomed to 100 residents, the committee struggled to find consensus over what would serve as a “trigger date,” or the baseline to determine a property’s defensible view.

They were less divided in opposing another Palos Verdes stipulation, which restricts complaints to view obstructions within 1,000 feet of the view-impaired property.

These were two of three topics discussed, selected because they dominated communications by residents with committee members since the last meeting, said the committee chair, Larry Nokes. The third topic addressed views blocked on public property, an issue the committee had yet to investigate fully.

“A lot of people are feeling a little bit rushed,” Nokes said, because the proposed law resonates deeply with the public and involves divergent and competing rights.

“I’m very concerned that we’re moving forward at a helluva pace,” agreed resident Charlotte Maserick.  ”It’s on a roll that I don’t like.”

Nevertheless, since the City Council asked for a progress report on the measure early in May, the committee expects to present a proposal by May 21, Nokes said.

With that goal in mind, committee members intend to post a revised draft ordinance on the city’s website by Friday, May 10, allowing residents to review it again before the committee reconvenes, Tuesday, May 14.

Subcommittees were created to divvy up the remaining work: Sue Kempf, Morris Skenderian and Nokes will work on the proposal’s language while Susan Whitin, Bob Borthwick and Chris Toy delve into dealing with city-owned trees.

Nokes alone supported the Palos Verdes provision that property owners have the right to preserve and restore views existing “at any time since the lot was created.” Others preferred the date of purchase, the date the ordinance becomes effective or no date at all, instead relying heavily on the judgment of a committee with decision-making authority.

In order to help homeowners restore their views while maintaining the town’s character, Borthwick  proposed the date of purchase as the trigger, a suggestion later endorsed by resident Dave Russell, since, “we paid for that view.”

“For me it doesn’t matter when the lot was created,” said Skenderian. “It’s more about view blockage issues that have gotten worse over the past five or 10 years,” he added, since most of the test cases the committee looked at involved lack of vegetation maintenance in recent years.

Whitin, too, opposed a lot creation trigger date as discriminating against newer owners, since 50 percent of the city’s properties have turned over in the last 10 years, she said. She proposed that the yet-to-be established view arbitration committee evaluate each case on its own merits.

“I’m for anything we can do in the ordinance that can address a lot of these situations where people are just not maintaining their vegetation,” said Kempf, who with Skenderian, Whitin and Toy opposed setting a trigger date. “We are here to create a police power that is pretty far reaching,” said Toy.

Committee member Ken Sadler, on the fence over using the purchase date or no date, worried that speculators might take advantage of the ordinance to buy a property with no view, create a view using the ordinance, and then flip the property.

Committee member Roger McErlane rejected using the lot subdivision date as a baseline because Laguna’s development differs substantially from Palos Verdes, a planned community. He also rejected establishing a view baseline as the date of purchase because he doubted the veracity of photos that can be easily altered.

He earned a few groans from the audience in suggesting that the date the ordinance is passed is a more equitable baseline.

Nearly the entire committee agreed with Nokes’ pronouncement that the ordinance should allow a future committee settling view disputes the freedom to deal with view obstructions regardless of the distance of the offending vegetation.

Borthwick dissented over relying on the objectivity of a committee, and supported a 1,000-foot limitation. He feared a situation where someone living in Top of the World could complain about a tree on a property on Glenneyre Street.

Resident John Thomas echoed his concern over allowing the decision-making body too much leeway, and asked the view equity committee to set more specific parameters in the ordinance itself.

Design review board member, Robin Zur Schmiede, suggested that rather than establishing set-in-stone parameters, the ordinance could outline a range of factors for consideration in establishing each defensible view, such as the view at the time of purchase, the age of the offending tree, growth patterns of the foliage, etc.

Some public comments added fuel to the committee’s upcoming deliberations. Steve Caporaso asked where the hedge height ordinance figures into all of this, and Amy Hundhausen questioned whether a resident could file a claim against offending growth where the owner had previously received design review approval for that very vegetation.

The workshops aim to look at specific topics affecting the downtown from a “philosophical point of view” before making policy decisions, said Commission chairman Norm Grossman. What emerges will shape revisions to zoning, remodeling and development rules contained in the Downtown Specific Plan, adopted in 1989, for the area bordered by Cliff Drive and Legion Street, policies. The plan is to finalize revisions next year.

At the most recent meeting last week, only a few new faces joined a core group of regulars to discuss desirable commercial and residential uses.

How much importance should be placed on maintaining a mix of resident- and tourist-serving businesses in the area led to a dialogue about Ocean Avenue, the downtown street designated a resident-serving zone. The discussion raised questions about whether “resident serving” remains appropriate as a planning device.

To property owner Sam Goldstein, tourist interests seem ignored in favor of resident interests. Resident and Design Review Board member Michael Wilkes noted that Ocean Avenue does not appear to be thriving under its resident-serving designation and wondered how to help it become more exciting without turning it into a tourist-oriented street.

Questions elicited more questions as often as answers.

If zoning stopped encouraging resident-serving businesses on Ocean, “what would we have?” resident Barbara Metzger asked.

Planning Commission member Ken Sadler asked the foundational question. “What are resident serving businesses?”

One reply was pharmacies, dry cleaners and shoe stores. But what of the drinking establishments on Ocean? Are they resident serving?

“The way we shop has changed,” said resident Chris Prelitz, suggesting that planners should factor in trends that have drawn shoppers to satisfy basic needs on line or at big box stores rather than around the corner.

Perhaps labeling an area as resident-serving or visitor-serving misses the mark in creating a destination, said Allan Simon, owner of Firebrand Media and publisher of the Indy. Why not consider zones for art or entertainment zones, he asked?

This begged the question of whether a true need exists for resident-serving businesses such as dry cleaners and pharmacies at the town’s center. Some said yes, citing the importance of maintaining a sense of community. Others suggested that such businesses up and down Coast Highway have already proven their convenience to locals, minimizing the need for their presence in the heart of downtown.

Goldstein suggested allowing second-story development for residential use on Ocean to improve vibrancy, and Wilkes added that more residents would in turn support more resident-serving businesses. Bonnie Hano voiced opposition to allowing any new second levels, regardless of use, because that would open another “can of worms.”

“The $800 gorilla in the room is rent,” said resident Arnold Hano. “Who can pay the rent?”

Principal planner Carolyn Martin admitted that median rent in Laguna Beach comes in at $1,800 a month, compared to the Orange County median of $1,400.

Current guidelines favor merchants with distinctive inventory. Goldstein said the policy effectively creates a barrier to open shop. “You have to really fight to be here, and I’m not sure that’s a wonderful thing,” he said.

Commission member Linda Dietrich countered out that the commission had turned down only three businesses seeking entry in the past five years.

Commission member Robert Zur Schmeide defended the practice of monitoring store product lines by requiring merchants to obtain conditional use permits, which are not required elsewhere in town. The policy helps avoid saturation of stores with similar inventory in the downtown area, he said.

But the practice may inadvertently dampen competition, where existing business owners oppose new ones simply to protect their own market share, Grossman said.

Parking presents the greatest barrier to filling vacancies, according to Simon. Eliminating overly strict parking requirements can go a long way to luring in new businesses, he said.

Relaxed parking restrictions are one of the recommendations under consideration in a parking management plan scheduled for review by the commission this week, Grossman said.

Other topics broached included the limited success of second-story retail, regulations requiring chain stores to customize their storefronts locally and establishing an entertainment zone, perhaps at the western end of Ocean Avenue, where noisier uses and even outdoor entertainment might be permitted.

The next workshop in the City Council chambers at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 15 will address Laguna’s identity as an art colony, the civic arts district, including its possible expansion, and the central bluffs.

Separately, they also unanimously approved the hire of Irvine’s RBF Consulting to research ways to improve Laguna Canyon Road for motor vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists alike.

Council member Bob Whalen placed both items on the agenda, making good on concerns he raised in January.

Referring to the Laguna Canyon Road analysis, Whalen cited access to funding for eventual improvements as a compelling reason to sign on the consultants, since it is easier to make a convincing argument for grant money by presenting potential funders with a solid plan.

Other city projects that may play into this analysis include a planned pathway between the ACT V parking lot and Laguna College of Art & Design, conceptual plans for bike and pedestrian paths, undergrounding of utility poles, improvement of the median close to town and the possible installation of a traffic signal between Canyon Acres and El Toro roads.

Council member Steve Dicterow expressed hope that RBF would recruit consultants of similar caliber to the task as they did for their recent work on a parking management plan.

The council approved RBF’s fee of $45,000, allowing for change orders up to $50,000 for the project.

Council member Toni Iseman will form a subcommittee with Whalen to work with city staff and the consultants to recommend specific Laguna Canyon Road improvements for the council’s consideration.

Making a separate case for engaging the right firm to assess the city’s numerous inter-related projects, Whalen pointed out the multiple policy and planning efforts currently in the works. These include updating the Downtown Specific Plan, Laguna Canyon Road improvements, a village entrance park and parking structure, development of a transportation and mobility plan, evaluation of the transit system, and efforts to comply with a state mandate to make streets accessible to cyclists, pedestrians and autos. The city would benefit greatly from an outside consultant taking a macro view to ensure they compliment each other, Whalen said.

Both Whalen and Iseman had expressed strong support for hiring an urban planning expert to examine the myriad city projects during a council retreat in January. That idea was echoed again by Planning Commissioner Anne Johnson in March, during a joint Planning Commission-City Council session.

The Council voted unanimously to authorize Whalen to work with city staff and Planning Commission members, possibly Anne Johnson and Robert Zur Schmiede, to investigate the credentials of possible candidates and make recommendations.

First, though, the owners intend to restore the 68-year-old building to its Spanish Colonial Revival design.

Laguna Beach’s City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved multiple permits for the business, including a historic preservation incentive that reduces the parking requirement by over 70 percent.

Thanks to the parking incentive, the owners need only provide 13 parking spaces, instead of the 44 that would have been required, including one space for every three of the restaurant’s planned 126 seats, as well as two spaces for the second floor residential unit.

Laguna’s municipal code relaxes parking space requirements up to 75 percent based on the degree to which the historic character of the building is preserved or enhanced.

In this case, the owner’s restoration plans include reviving an outdoor patio, along with its decorative fountain and murals, which had been covered over by a 1,149 square foot addition in 1965.

Todd Skenderian, the project’s architect, noted that the original building, constructed in 1945 to house the Laguna Federal Savings and Loan Association, was designed by renowned local architect Aubrey St. Clair who also designed City Hall and the Laguna County Water District building. Plans call for restoring the structure to its 1952 appearance, before the patio was enclosed and before the numerous facade changes were imposed that were insensitive to the building’s original character, Skenderian said.

Sitting on a 5,628 square foot site, the building most recently served as the Sirous & Sons Rug Gallery and Big Dog Sportswear before that. The current structure contains 4,567 square feet of commercial space on the ground level and a 1,761 square foot second-story residence.

Dom DeMarco’s takes its name from Italian immigrant Domenico DeMarco, who opened the still-popular Di Fara Pizza in Brooklyn in 1964. The owners of Dom DeMarco’s Pizzeria apparently received permission to use the recipes from Di Fara before opening their first location in Las Vegas in 2011, which currently has 183 reviews on Yelp averaging four stars. The Laguna Beach pizzeria will be their second location.

While the eatery’s touted Brooklyn-style pizzas dominate the menu, sandwiches, salads, appetizers, pasta and a kid’s menu will round it out. They’ll also serve beer and wine, but no liquor.

Council member Toni Iseman thanked Kari Laurent, the owner’s representative, for promising to preserve the historic building. “I can’t wait for the rest of Laguna to see what you are doing,” she said.

Laurent, in turn, described “an amazing experience with the city” in moving the project forward. She said the ownership group has some roots in the city and when the building came available and they saw it’s potential for restoration, they knew “it was a great fit and the perfect size” for their concept. “We look forward to being here,” she added.

The ownership group is Laguna Dana Investments, LLC, based in Santa Barbara, which is in turn owned by the Patrick N. Smith Living Trust, whose trustee is Patrick N. Smith.

The city’s principal planner Monica Tuchscher walked the owners through the project, and it received unanimous approval from both the Heritage Committee and the Planning Commission, whom Mayor Pro Tem Elizabeth Pearson praised for meticulously working through all of the logistics.

The City Council also separately supported the Planning Commission’s recommendation to remove the three ficus trees in front of the building and replace them with another variety, to be decided at a later date.

Bob Madsen of Irvine’s RBF Consulting and his team of experts presented their draft recommendations to better manage the town’s existing parking to the Planning Commission and members of the public Wednesday, April 10. The team fine-tuned points presented at a March 20 workshop.

Matson and his assistant manager Anthony Hernandez were joined by parking experts including Rick Williams, of Portland, Ore., and Rick Wilson, a professor at Cal Poly and consultant in parking policy and financing. The team was engaged last May to identify ways to maximize resources in the downtown area bordered by Legion Street and Cliff Drive and Laguna Canyon Road to the Laguna College of Art & Design.

The team analyzed data collected from 13 studies, including summer and off-season occupancy figures from 2002 and 2007, respectively. They also interviewed city staff involved with parking, as well as 50 to 70 landowners and merchants in the downtown area, and have held three public workshops beginning last July.

They summarized the 110-page draft plan, which can be found at the city’s website under Popular Links in the bottom left of the home page.

The Planning Commission will review the draft formally at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 24, in City Council chambers.

Dynamic pricing figured as a key recommendation, based on the belief visitors can be lured to remote lots or outlying meters if the price is right. If, during the summer, parking meter rates increased downtown, significantly lower prices in remote lots could entice visitors to park there if they could rely on fast and frequent trolley service into town, the experts said. This might require improving shuttle service on weekends and possibly increase it during peak days and hours.

Other recommendations included making Ocean Avenue a one-way street all the way to Coast Highway and restriping for diagonal parking for its entire length; a shared valet parking plan; encouraging more businesses to share their parking with others in off hours; and relaxing the parking requirements tied to conditional use permits.

The consultants received positive feedback for the shared valet plan. This would involve setting up several curb-side valet stations (which could simply mean taking up one or two parking spaces and painting the curb) throughout the downtown area. Visitors would pull up to the curb, rather than circling to look for spaces, and leave their car with the valet who would park it at an off-street location. When the visitors are ready to leave, they go to whichever valet station is nearest and their car is brought to them.

Laguna Beach resident Michael Hoag challenged the team, saying that studies show that more parking in a city serves only to increase congestion, and claiming that cities now turn to multi-modal mobility to alleviate traffic congestion.

It’s true that a new space means a “new vehicle trip,” agreed Wilson. “That’s why we prefer to manage existing use and to use peripheral lots.” At the same time, he said, better management of the on-street spaces reduces the congestion per space. As for multi-modal options, he said it is important to determine to what extent Laguna can switch people to biking, walking and using transit, and consider that in any planning decisions.

Whatever parking revisions the city finally signs off on, the consultants highlighted the importance of consumer education, through signage and potentially through technology, such as apps. Most important, there should be signage at the entry points to town letting people know where parking is available, particularly remote lots, before they hit the center of town. Lots might also have signs posting real time availability. And any event fliers should include information on parking options, the consultants said.

Jean Raun

Laguna Beach resident and tireless philanthropist Jean Raun received more than the usual cards from well-wishers for her 90^th birthday.

The town she’s made home for half her life issued a proclamation honoring her 90th birthday for the years of dedicated service.

“It is my privilege to honor you this evening,” said council member Toni Iseman, who presented the proclamation. “The shorthand is that you are the moral compass for our community.”

When she was similarly recognized as Woman of the Year by the Laguna Beach Woman’s Club in 2007, then president Peggy Ford said, “Jean lives by the courage of her convictions, working tirelessly to demonstrate the power of good government and to better the lives of the less fortunate.”

Indeed, Raun’s most visible public service may be her steadfast advocacy for an informed electorate as a leader of the local chapter of the League of Women Voters. And beyond urging citizens to take the time to gain a full grasp of the issues in any election, Raun collaborated with the Friendship Shelter to inform some of their residents, who had been disenfranchised through jail time, of their renewed right to vote. Most did not know that in California convicted felons who have completed their sentence and probation may, in fact, vote.

Since moving to Laguna in 1966 after marrying Dick Raun, she has been involved in many other volunteer efforts including, but not limited to, the Cross Cultural Council, the Laguna Beach Woman’s Club, the Interfaith Council, the Great Decisions discussion group, the 2030 Visioning Committee, countless candidates forums, the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, and the Laguna Resource Center, as well as paying weekly visits to encourage the homeless at the shelter in the canyon.

Friends also toasted her many contributions to the church and the community at a reception last week, said Daga Krackowizer, a Unitarian Universalist congregant who presides over the Laguna Beach Interfaith Council. Raun serves as a matriarchal figure in the church, and all who pass through its doors benefit from her warm welcome and genuine concern, she said. But Raun has been especially involved in social action activities, said Krackowizer. “Her major concern is justice for all,” and members depend on her to inform them about local issues needing their attention.

Promoting permanent housing for the homeless is one of Jean Raun’s many causes.

As an example, when Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials stopped local day laborers and asked them for identification, Raun immediately got the word out to volunteers who gathered at the bus stop and street corners in protest, Krackowizer recalled.

“When I first came to Laguna Beach, as a new nonprofit executive, I was told by more than one person that it was important that I meet Jean and learn from her,” said Dawn Price, executive director of the Friendship Shelter. “That has certainly been true. She is an incredible force for good, always reminding us of what we’ve done together and what we should be doing next.”

Even as she graciously accepted the City Council’s proclamation, Raun continued to serve as a role model. “May I say thank you to all of you for the privilege of living in this marvelous community,” she began. “We honor beauty and art and music. We are compassionate. We are advocates for good government. And it isn’t just the League [of Women Voters]. We work with many other non-profit, non-partisan organizations in doing the things that were mentioned as accomplishments of mine,” she said, making sure credit was given where due. “And we live in a marvelous, wonderful place. Let’s all appreciate it.”

Carl Smith left, owner of CES Contemporary gallery, and Peter Blake of Peter Blake Gallery, host an Ocean Avenue block party Saturday night.

A sea change is reshaping downtown’s Ocean Avenue as business owners tied by common threads redefine their neighborhood. Four years after Peter Blake Gallery staked a claim to a spot on a street losing its vibrancy, Carl Smith, owner of CES Contemporary, also relocated his gallery there. The two gallerists who envisioned cohesiveness among fellow merchants now see their efforts flourishing in an emerging shopping destination with a distinctive identity.

Tapping into new and veteran businesses offering “sophisticated” goods and services, ranging from art and interior and industrial design to fashion, culinary creations and distinct home products, Smith spearheaded an effort that will culminate this weekend with the avenue’s first annual Spring Soirée from 6 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, April 20.

Smith’s idea to build a brand identity received support from the start, with 20 Ocean Avenue merchants signing on. Merchants and artisans all want to “celebrate with our clients and the community the sophistication of the businesses on Ocean Avenue,” he said.

Several galleries will host opening receptions for new exhibitions during an evening planned with a live band, as well as hors d’oeuvres, refreshments and entertainment at locations up and down the street.

Despite the merchants’ shared sense of momentum, many residents have yet to learn of the metamorphosis. People simply don’t walk past the store, explained Heather Lee, co-owner of Trove Gallery at 370 Ocean with her husband Bobby Lee. Though the gallery, which displays art and sculptures, as well as unique pieces of new and vintage home furnishings, has been open for two years, she said locals will come in and ask if they’ve just opened. But now, “I think it’s starting to happen,” said Lee.

Blake credits the Planning Commission for recognizing that his gallery could be a catalyst to turning around a street lacking foot traffic. “We were dealing with an antiquated CUP process,” he said, which restricted Ocean to resident serving shops. Residents now are better served by what the street is beginning to offer, less basic needs and more unique “lifestyle” shops, he said.

“We were hoping that by letting people in, it would invigorate Ocean Avenue,” Planning Commission chairman Norm Grossman said of their 2008 approval of Blake’s gallery, though the decision wasn’t without opposition.

“It’s quite clear that calling Ocean Avenue a resident serving street is problematic,” agreed planning commissioner Anne Johnson. But the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker, she said, “are not the kind of businesses that can afford to come into town on that street.”

The street’s lack of vibrancy has concerned planners for years, she said. “I think a new generation is coming forward and changing the dialogue.”

While Blake’s gallery served as a catalyst for Gallery Row in North Laguna, a different transformation is underway on Ocean Avenue. It is being reborn as a mixed-use “lifestyle” street, with more people parking to eat at perhaps Zinc or Anastasia, and then, instead of getting back in their cars, as they might have in the past, they peruse the unique boutiques and galleries. “Now we’ve got a little Abbott Kinney,” Blake said, comparing it to the Venice Beach neighborhood with a reputation as a hip place to dine and shop for art, fashion and home goods. “The fact that we are getting together and having this opening is an indication that we are all feeling that,” he said.

“We’re lucky to have a lot of like-minded businesses on this block,” said Amy Spain, gallery manager of CES who has been promoting the evening with Smith. “It’s been a kind of joyful experience to see other businesses as invested as we are” in the process.

Marci Hutson, saleswoman at Hillary, a boutique newly offering women’s fashions along with children’s clothing, embraced the soirée as a way to bring in foot traffic and exposure to the street. She sees a renaissance underway on Ocean, ready to hold it’s own against Forest Avenue as a premier shopping street.

At least a decade has elapsed since merchants undertook any similar grass-roots organizing downtown beyond their own storefronts, Grossman said. The Ocean Avenue effort coincides with a current initiative of city planners, who are evaluating whether to redefine conditional use permit requirements for downtown. “I think for the first time in 20 years, we are going to look at all the options,” Grossman said. “Everything is on the table.”

Smith and Blake first collaborated on a holiday soiree prior to Hospitality Night last December. Just 11 businesses participated, eventually engaging a jazz band and attracting 150- 200 people.

Spring seemed an opportune time for a renewed effort, with the changing seasons reflecting the street’s own transformation.

Participating businesses include: Anastasia Café and Boutique, Casey’s Cupcake, CES Contemporary, Cliff Wassman, Couture Resale, D.N. Evans, Diana Garreau, Flea Market, Forest & Ocean Gallery, Hillary, I.C. London, Laguna Supply, Laguna Art Supply, Michael Evans, Peter Blake Gallery, Seaside Interiors, Spice Merchants, Studio DC Salon, Trove, Vanessa Rothe, and Zinc Café & Marketplace.

Photo by Mitch Ridder

Committee members first shared their observations about 11 sample sites they’d visited and how rules under consideration needed stronger enforcement tools to remedy conditions, where in all but one case, views were egregiously obstructed. In all cases the owners had attempted to negotiate with the tree owners and failed, despite numerous attempts, some going back years and years.

Committee members commented on different aspects of the proposed draft ordinance. Topics included how strictly to define views and where to establish a baseline (Time of purchase? When the lot was first developed?). Several people and at least one committee member said in creating a hierarchy of most important considerations, views should come first and trees second.

As few in the audience had read the draft ordinance, available online since Friday, April 12, the committee urged reconvening on April 30, and encouraged the public to e-mail their comments in advance if possible.

Committee members will all suggest their own edits to the draft and submit them to the secretary to be consolidated before the April 30 meeting.

Instead council members approved spending $50,000 to hire an expert consultant to analyze transit services, whose costs have escalated 22 percent over four years to $2.4 million annually. Analysis should include ridership of the city’s underused mainline bus service and suggested cost-savings, as well as possible alternative revenue sources for the summer trolleys, such as through a business improvement district or adding a surcharge to festival tickets.

They also asked staff to explore potential revenue by allowing advertising inside the summer trolleys, an option supported by Mayor Pro Tem Elizabeth Pearson, who says she knows businesses that would jump at the opportunity.

Raising parking meter rates and parking lot fees, as well as adding new credit card meters could also help fund the system, but the council agreed to defer consideration as a downtown parking management plan is under development. A draft of the plan was presented to the public this past Wednesday and is expected to be finalized in June.

The council vetoed imposing a trolley fare because of the potential for slow downs as drivers collected payment and out of fear of reducing ridership. While Mayor Kelly Boyd believes locals would be willing to pay for a ride, council members Toni Iseman and Bob Whalen both recalled how ridership spiked when fees were originally lifted.

The city’s transit service consists of its mainline service (blue and white year-round buses), summer trolleys and para-transit services provided to seniors through Sally’s Fund and OCTA. With the exception of the latter, the service’s operating costs have risen steadily since 2008. At the same time, revenues remain fairly stable.

Mainline bus service cost the city $1.1 million for 2012-13, compared to $915,000 in the fiscal year 2008-9. Its ridership peaked in 2009-10 and has since decreased annually. The service runs three buses all year, from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 9:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Saturdays.

The summer trolley costs rose to $1.2 million this year compared to $935,000 in 2008. Trolley ridership continues to increase, with 581,704 boardings last summer compared to 460,692 in 2008.

The city currently runs 18 trolleys for 10 weeks each summer, running daily from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., using 12 city-owned vehicles and six additional ones leased each summer for $100,000. Using the last of funds received through OCTA, the council authorized the purchase of three new trolleys in January. Two will replace trolleys being put out of service, thus increasing the fleet to 13.

An additional three trolleys will be acquired through a $318,000 Proposition B grant.

Laguna is also seeking an additional OCTA Project V grant to underwrite the purchase of three more trolleys, which would reduce wait times on the route to 15 minutes from 20. Another part of the grant would allocate funds to run the trolleys on weekends, Friday through Sunday, during six non-summer months. The grant stipulates its use for new service.

As City Manager John Pietig explained, mainline ridership fees and grants don’t generate enough income to support the transit services. Laguna subsidizes transit with revenue from parking fees, tapping $710,000 from the fund to cover the gap last year. Estimates show that the system’s operating deficits would more than double to $2 million over the next 14 years. Some council members have questioned the subsidy, which depletes funding for other potential projects such as the village entrance.

Pearson pointed out that the mainline bus service costs the city almost as much as the summer trolley service even though year-round bus ridership amounts to about one seventh that of the trolleys.

Last year’s transit fund report suggested modifications such as eliminating the mainline route to Dana Point’s Ritz Carlton, which costs about $45,000 a year; eliminating the service to Three Arch Bay, a route that costs about $75,000 annually; and eliminating Saturday service, which has the lowest ridership and runs a tab of $40,000 each year. That report also suggested raising adult fares to $1 from 75 cents and senior fares to 50 cents from 30 cents, to generate an estimated $85,000 in fare income compared to $70,000 presently.

Before choosing any options, Iseman highlighted the importance of figuring out exactly who rides the blue and white buses so as to determine who would be affected by modifying service and whether other options might be available for those patrons. She said paying a true expert $50,000 to provide answers “would be money well spent.”

Even though Pietig suggested Tuesday that the council might consider using in-house experts to review the system for a lower cost of about $10,000, an option favored by Boyd and Pearson, council member Steve Dicterow, like Iseman, supported hiring an outside consultant. “I want someone to also look at our system and compare it to other communities,” he said. “There are experts who can help us make the system as good as it can be at the lowest cost.”

Ideas on Laguna’s “village character” and how best to define and preserve the views of the downtown area surfaced during a Planning Commission workshop last week as a prelude to contemplated revisions of the city’s Downtown Specific Plan, the commercial area bounded by Cliff Drive and Legion Street.

Participants discussed these and other questions, and achieved some consensus, but a few sticking points emerged in the details. Most agreed some storefronts could use a little TLC, a goal some suggested could be achieved with incentives, while others suggested higher-end tenants. And while many see that mixing residential and commercial use in the area can add vibrancy, not everyone agrees with allowing construction of second-level housing.

Finalized in 1989, the 133-page Downtown Specific Plan, serves as a growth and development guideline to “preserve and enhance the unique character of the downtown.” An amendment in 2000 expanded the area to include the Civic Art District, which extends the western boundary to the Boys & Girls Club on Laguna Canyon Road. It has been suggested that the next amendment enlarge the canyon boundary to take in the ACT V parking lot and the Laguna College of Art and Design.

Directed last July to overhaul the plan, the Planning Commission set to information gathering and analysis and expects to finalize a plan by in March 2014, which would require subsequent certification by the Coastal Commission. Principal planner Carolyn Martin leads the project.

Participants at a walking tour workshop in January scrutinized the town, considering building heights, signage, sidewalk size, pedestrian amenities and parking requirements, among other details. They followed up with a subsequent workshop to go over the observations and summarize their conclusions.

Last week’s workshop delved in more depth into specific topics, village character and view preservation.

“We’re talking about appearance and feeling,” said planning commissioner Norm Grossman, soliciting comments on what makes up the character that sets Laguna Beach apart.

Peggy Trott, general manager of the Inn at Laguna Beach, noted that in on-line reviews visitors often highlighted their ability to walk everywhere, the great shops and restaurants, the people-watching, the beach and the “picturesque” nature of the city.

Asked by Grossman to define picturesque, participants responded with answers that ran the gamut from the uniformity of the downtown’s village character to its lack of uniformity, evidenced by its eclectic architecture.

Heads nodded when Ginger Osborne described the “sense of community” that permeates the town and again when and Visitor’s Bureau chair Karyn Philippsen pointed out the prominence of the beach and natural wonders visitors encounter in the town’s hidden coves.

Laguna’s charm comes from the density created by downtown’s topography, sandwiched between the ocean and coastal foothills, giving it the aspect of a village, local architect Morris Skenderian pointed out. “To me, that’s what we have that nobody else has and that’s why they come here.”

Room for improvement abounds in the form of poorly maintained buildings and neglected storefronts, said Allan Simon, owner of Firebrand Media and publisher of the Indy.

Sam Goldstein, owner of the meticulously restored Tommy Bahama building, agreed and suggested that higher-end merchants might take better care of their properties.

Heritage Committee member Bonnie Hano countered that quality should not be equated with high-end merchants. Others pointed out that diversity adds charm.

Some suggested incentives to landlords such as annual beautification awards or business improvement districts that imposed standards, among others.

Building height limits, restricted for decades, was also debated. Some adamantly opposed allowing second story construction in any form and cited view obstruction and potential erosion of village character due to density. Proponents saw merit in selectively allowing another story, preferably for residential purposes, but perhaps not on Forest Avenue.

Additional concerns raised included the permitting and design review process for renovating old buildings, heavy traffic on Broadway and improving its appeal to pedestrians, the relaxation of parking requirements for conditional use permits and the prohibition against power cleaning sidewalks.

Participants also discussed greenery issues such as tree sizes and types, whether some areas might be better served by hanging flowers than trees, and improving some areas with pocket parks.

“We are all sitting here trying to figure out what’s wrong with this town, and yet we all live here because of what’s right with it,” Skenderian pointed out.

Another workshop is set for 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 17, in the City Council chambers. The topics discussed will be downtown commercial uses, re-use and intensification and housing. View here the current  plan; also available at the city’s website.

Though staff determined the project to be exempt from design review, Council member Toni Iseman requested the project to be considered by the full council.

In all, staff had earmarked eight trees for removal including six ficus trees, to be replaced by metrosideros excelsa, also known as the New Zealand Christmas tree, and two eucalyptus trees, to be replaced by another eucalyptus species called the silver dollar gum. The species recommendations originated in the city’s Landscape and Scenic Highways resource document.

Steve May, the city’s director of public works, explained that the mature trees were buckling sidewalks and creating tripping hazards near storefronts. Additionally, uneven trimming to keep branches off buildings made them unbalanced, he said.

“We need to learn to trim the trees correctly,” testified local resident Ruben Flores, owner of Laguna Nursery, who indicated proper trimming of tree crowns can slow root growth and be done without leaving them lopsided, and that the roots themselves can be trimmed and curbed to mitigate damage.

Flores favored removing some of the targeted ficus trees, but argued for saving two ficus ratus trees by the Presbyterian Church, but especially a eucalyptus tree near the Forest Avenue telephone booth, a rare specimen. “There are some beautiful tress in our downtown area, so we should preserve those if we can,” he said.

“I don’t have a problem getting rid of the ficus trees,” said council member Bob Whalen. “But we should look harder at what to replace them with.” He noted that the chosen varieties, judging by photos provided, seem to grow large crowns that, like those being removed, might also become equally imbalanced.

Mayor Kelly Boyd, former owner of the Marine Room, said that after 25 years of doing business on Ocean Avenue, where three of the targeted trees grow, he’s seen the damage the ficus trees do there. “Those trees are in our streets, under our sidewalks and in our buildings,” he said, adding that he’d like to see them removed as a matter of safety.

Members of the public had similar feelings about the ficus trees. “It’s a tree I won’t hug because I hate it,” confessed Eleanor Henry.

Mayor Pro Tem Elizabeth Pearson suggested they authorize the removal of the trees, so as not to delay the sidewalk repair efforts, but temporarily put off their replacement a few weeks, pending further investigation of replacement options. Iseman asked that the eucalyptus by the phone booth, at 305 Forest Avenue, be given a “stay of execution.”