Editor,
If the proposed view ordinance passes we will turn Woods Cove into the Sawdust Festival South.
The proposal states views are always king and that trees, even heritage trees, have to voluntarily genuflect or be decapitated. This policy is wrong.
I just bought a home in lower Temple Hills. My primary ocean view is filtered through at least 12 mature trees that under the proposed ordinance I could force my neighbors to top or remove, even if everyone else in the neighborhood wants to keep them. The market value of my home might possibly go up, but at the expense of my neighbors, whose denuded homes would be worth less. Of course, eventually all of us might suffer a decline in property values if enough of our mature trees are topped or lost.
The council should reject the proposed ordinance.
The current view ordinance, passed in 1998, is fair and balanced. It respects views and trees and thus helps to preserve the neighborhoods that make this town unique, which is the right thing to do.
Keep the current ordinance as is. The silent majority supports this result.
Robert Braun, Laguna Beach
