Editor,
In 2001 Laguna residents spent $100,000, invited 1,000 participants and wrote the LB Vision Plan for 2030. The plan established clear goals and roughly seven action items in seven categories.
The categories: community character – people, community character – place, resident and visitor mobility, environmental responsibility, arts and culture, economic sustainability and government and civic participation.
Fifteen years later the Laguna Beach cultural steering committee and 700 participants produced the Arts Evolution cultural plan, that should have stated implementations to meet actionable items: initiate an economic impact report; establish arts center; artist live-work, ensure continued residency; promote community education and participation.
Instead this cultural plan is another generic rewrite of the Vision Plan’s category 5. Arts and Culture with even broader goals.
Arts Evolution appears to serve special interests, like the village entrance parking structure was for The Festival of Arts.
Laguna’s special interests, like Village Laguna, Festival of Arts have a record of re-visioning and re-voting until they get the outcome they desire.
Since the visioning process was completed in 2001 the planning process has had 15 years to think about those actionable items. Let’s re-write Arts Evolution to address implementations and funding of three actions rather than a rewrite of visioning and goals. That would be a step forward.
Les Miklosy, Laguna Beach
