It’s Not Nice
Does the concept that design review isn’t always nice strike anyone as odd? It shouldn’t.
Design review wasn’t built to be nice. Design review exists to keep the essence of Laguna, as expressed in its buildings and landscape, intact. It’s also there to save your view.
Sometimes the Design Review Board has to say no. Can you think of a time when somebody was saying no to you that you thought they were being nice? Only when they started to say yes did you start thinking they were nice. It’s the same everywhere.
Design review in Laguna has a few projects a year where the board never can say yes. It always has its reasons. For those denied applicants, the board is not nice, it’s rude, disrespectful, arbitrary, petty, subjective and slow.
Let’s look at the curse of subjective. Can anybody describe the essence of Laguna as expressed in its architecture and landscape? No not really. But you know it when you see it. And you’d know it when you see something that shouldn’t be done.
Other folks can do this, too. So, we’ve created a board to look and see. That is the poster child of subjective. It was built to be subjective.
It isn’t just one person saying no in this subjective way. It is a board of five, and on appeal, five on the council. When a majority of both these bodies agrees a project shouldn’t be approved, you can be sure it shouldn’t. Rarely would Judge Judy disagree.
As for slow, everybody is slow. We’re all busy. Of course, we should monitor the city’s performance metrics and make improvements. But nobody was sitting on their hands waiting by the phone for your call. Do you think any of the peer reviewed professionals, people hire to design their dream mansions, are going to admit being tardy on their end? Of course not. So, it’s tedious and slow. This is Laguna Beach 2019. The big leagues baby.
Somebody needs to tell Councilman Blake that denigrating and demonizing his neighbors who serve as volunteers on the board or stay up late from their beds to testify at a hearing may be OK on the campaign trail but has no place on the City Council dais. Isn’t interrupting speakers before the Council from the dais the same thing Mr. Blake is accusing the board members of doing? It is time to stop campaigning and start governing.
He’ll need to change his tune if he wants to become the one thing his constituents want most—effective. Hopefully a trip to City Council boot camp will tune him up.
J.J. Gasparotti moved to Laguna Beach with his family when he was 11 years old. He has loved it ever since.
JJ, please remember that I was elected to fight for my constituents and not cower to politics and bureaucracy. I ran and won the election on two issues, crime and property rights. In my first two Council meetings, I addressed both and have engaged our community in meaningful discourse as a result of my efforts. I’m pleased with the results so far and am working towards enacting meaningful change both now and in the future. JJ, I’m happy that you feel all’s well with the DRB process. I feel the opposite! In my opinion, it’s not acceptable for our residents to be subjected to the whims of politicized appointees who toe the line for Village Laguna. We don’t want their “subjectivity” that requires lawyers and consultants to navigate and game the system. We want clear cut laws and guidelines that we can work within and that respect our property rights. We should be allowed to build within the code and engage a fair system that provides equal rights regardless of when one purchased their home or property. The current process is unacceptable and has sown discord throughout our community creating enemies instead of friendly neighbors. JJ, I was elected by the silent majority that pays the bulk of the property tax in this community, and sorry, they’re not interested in your dated opinion of the “essence of Laguna”. I appreciate your valued counsel and regret to inform you that a trip to “City Council boot camp” will not “tune me up” or change my tune. You’re right, this is “Laguna Beach 2019” It is the “big leagues” and I’m here to govern regardless of how you feel about the way I go about it.
Thanks for the schooling!
Peter Blake