Many callers in the January 25, 2022, City Council Zoom meeting warned the City Council about the intensification of use and parking. One resident said, “The changes in the parking element of the Downtown Specific Plan will enable developers to intensify use without properly mitigating the impacts it creates.” Apparently, the residents are better informed than Councilman Peter Blake.
Councilman Peter Blake exposed his ignorance about intensification of use at about 1:57 (see video online on the City website) into the meeting. After being corrected, he still voted to approve the revised Downtown Specific Plan. Revisions that relax parking and height requirements, and are destined to aggravate parking, congestion, traffic, and the livelihood of surrounding businesses.
Councilman Peter Blake: “Marc, I’d like to clarify something. It keeps being said that a retail place could turn into a restaurant without modifying the parking. Everything I know says that that’s false. If you’re a retail location and you decide that you want to open a restaurant at that retail location, you’re going to have to come up with parking, right?”
Community Development Director Marc Wiener: “So, under–with the updated downtowns specific plan, it’s going to require three spaces per 1,000 sq. ft. of commercial floor area, regardless of the use.”
Measure Q was written when the decades old Downtown Specific Plan was in effect. By voting Yes on Q, voters can restore these protective standards.
Gene Felder, Laguna Beach
![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://www.lagunabeachindy.com/letter-apparently-residents-better-informed-than-blake/&media=https://www.lagunabeachindy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/letters.jpg&description=Many callers in the January 25, 2022, City Council Zoom meeting warned the City Council about the intensification of use and parking. One resident said, "The changes in the parking element of the Downtown Specific Plan will enable developers to intensify use without properly mitigating the impacts it creates." Apparently, the residents are better informed than Councilman Peter Blake.){kind=link}
So, this is what desperation looks like. Bye 🙂
Gene, I guess you figure that if you tell the same lie over and over again, it will become true? How dumb do you think the public is?
For the last 4 years I’ve worked to de-couple parking from use. It is meant to allow for better retail and dining establishments to consider Laguna and provide the residents with the level of retail commensurate with their wealth and sophistication.
Voting NO on Q effectively ends the decades long rule that you and your fellow authoritarians have had over a public that pays the bulk of the property tax and yet has to abide by your draconian rules and regulations.
On November 8th you’ll find out just how done we all are with you and your cronies!
Gene’s “Everyone’s Wrong Listen to ME! – – Everyone’s Wrong Listen to ME!!” is why we have learned to ignore bullies like Felder who are mad at YOU for disagreeing with VL’s more educated more trendy love of life in Laguna. And you do not. Trouble is, that Gene and the VL peeps ruined Laguna, by fighting over every little thing, and not moving forward on the big stuff. More hotels, restaurants, parking, retail, world class art. They feared if they gave in on one thing they’d loose their grip – and it’s true. It happened. VOTE NO A GENE AND VL.