Editor,
In an effort to satisfy the City Council’s requirement to make the village entrance happen, Bob Borthwick (the project’s design architect) has made our farmers’ market the unwitting victim.
In his presentation on Oct. 2 he stated that it was fine for all to offload.
Asking a handful of strapping young 25 year olds if they ever offload is very different from forcing 98 percent of the vendors to offload each week.
Glossing it over as a pretty and a charming way to have our farmers’ market is not only discriminatory but an insult to these hard working people who provide the highest quality farm fresh produce to our community. It’s shocking and disturbing.
The plan during at least three years of construction would eliminate any adjacent customer parking, not to mention selling food next to a toxic construction site.
Upon completion, all farmers and vendors would have to park their trucks in the bottom of the parking structure and physically transport all tables, food and canopies at least 20 yards. The plan will not ever allow for the trucks to be next to each vendor’s space.
Where is the compassion for these people?
Additionally, during bad weather trucks are used to help tie down all the tarps.
The plan sets up a disaster of attrition, with locals initially not finding parking and then vendors leaving due to unsafe work hardships.
As the manager of four farmers’ markets a week and here in Laguna for more than 18 years, and a 30 year resident, I find this decision to be elitist and self-serving not to mention discriminatory.
My plan: just clean it up. Create a wider greener walkway leaving at least three rows of parking and build a structure at ACT V utilizing the trams.
Jennifer Griffiths, Laguna Beach
