Editor,
Last Tuesday, Oct. 16, at the City Council meeting, the council voted 3 to 1 to abandon an easement that a sewer line runs through. This very small five-foot parcel was or might have been a part of a trail that leads from San Remo to Wendt Terrace. Yes, a good reason for the abandonment, but there should have been a tradeoff: either use the other side of the property for the trail or walkway everyone walks up or, if not possible, perhaps there could be a way around this property to continue the trail. That would have been a great tradeoff for the public. As it stands, only the homeowner benefits from the city abandoning city property.
To keep the peace in this town, people need to compromise with each other. What I heard Tuesday night was confusion and a dispute over the maps. Some people claimed people never walk on this trail, while others insisted that they do. I know for a fact that local landscape architect Bob Borthwick and local landscaper Steve Stewart walk down that very area to design stairs that do not require cement and avoid the sewer.
More and more easements are being taken over by homeowners that were once trails and fire roads. Children used these to walk down to the village area to avoid having to walk down dangerous streets like Temple Hills Drive and Bluebird Canyon. These roads (and others) have no room for sidewalks. Off road trails are the solution.
Think about it. What a world we would be living in if everyone really tried to listen to each other and put their selves in each other’s places, working together for a solution that is good for everyone.
Liza Stewart, Laguna Beach
