Editor,
It was instructive to note that on April 2 a Superior Court judge ruled that a full environment impact report is required to assess the impact of a proposed Los Angeles residential project on traffic, public safety and land use patterns.
The parallels between that project and the proposed Coast Inn and Liquor “remodel” are acutely noteworthy.
In her ruling, the judge said the city did not obtain input from its police and fire departments about services that would be required by project residents and the surrounding community. She also expressed concerns about car trips and residential traffic spillover generated by such a high-density project and called for additional study from Caltrans.
The city of Laguna Beach should heed the advice of the court and mandate an EIR for the Coast Inn and Liquor project. Additionally, given the project’s sensitive coastal cliff location, it should be referred to the California Coastal Commission for full review. As elected agents of the public trust, the Laguna Beach City Council should insist that this project be thoroughly reviewed and analyzed by those entities and agencies qualified to do so. It would be negligent to not do so.
Randy Lewis, Laguna Beach
