I watched the hearing on the north Laguna Museum Hotel proposal on Oct. 16. The council chamber was SRO and there were lots of residents standing outside unable to get in. It was a great turnout. It’s comforting to see there is a great interest in the future of Laguna.
I was impressed with the Planning Commission’s performance. Chairman Ken Stabler ran a fair meeting and was in control at all times. Planning Commissioners were articulate, civil and respectful. They were concerned that the proposed hotel did not include a well planned “raison d’etre.” One asked, given the proposed target audience of high-end travelers and the high cost of a per night stay, what was the proposed customer experience? The hotel would have no open space, no ocean view, no ideal private location. He compared it to the Montage, which truly offers a world class customer experience.
But I was very disappointed with the proposal as presented, as the design did not meet any of the city’s development guidelines, code requirements and did not consider environmental and resident impacts.
How did the city staff allow this proposal to be presented in this condition? Is it a standard practice for proposals that do not meet minimum requirements to be presented to the Commission and to residents? Such a waste of everyone’s time. In my opinion, presenting such unreasonable proposals only serves to further the divide between preservationists and development proponents.
Now, we wait for city staff to help the developer meet suggestions from the Commissioners and residents and then return for another review. We need to be vigilant and in touch with our City Council members and planning commissioners to be sure they do the “right thing” and we get a good project for this very important corner of our Village.
Armando Baez, Laguna Beach
