Editor,
Cancer is an interesting disease; you cannot just trim it away and hope for the best. It requires a doctor with expertise. I say this as I perceive the new version of a proposed ordinance is like a map for not dealing with a cancer in this city.
Vegetation that is going viral is putting our town at risk for another devastating fire, costing tax payers millions of dollars in upkeep, homeowner’s loss of views and costly maintenance.
Like a cancerous growth, you just don’t trim a bit here and there. Palm cannot be topped. If eucalyptus is trimmed in spring and summer, it regrows twice as fast as if trimmed in fall or winter.
The only hope I see is that the homeowner with offending trees will not want to spend money year after year on trimming and perhaps they will come to their senses.
Of course if there is a committee composed of residents, you can be sure that there will be representatives from Village Laguna that will dominate and help their friends who belong to their group, which is now a mutual benefit corporation. This means that they don’t have to report anything to anyone and can do as they please. Something like what is going on in Eastern Europe right now.
Let’s be honest. This city is being run by a group of people under the guise of wanting to keep Laguna a village. This is not a bad concept, but this city was populated by people who loved its vistas and then planted the eucalyptus as a source of cheap fire wood, which it still is. The tactics of storming city hall and exaggerating, lying, and using blackmail to go along with their demands has reached an all time high.
I hope that those of you who want to return this city to a quiet, peaceful, cooperative town that wants to retain its beautiful coastline (which is what brings people to Laguna) and its cultural offerings, will come together at the proposed meeting of March 25 and speak your voice.
Ganka Brown, Laguna Beach
