The long-awaited new Historic Preservation Ordinance (HPO) that has taken over five years, countless meetings, and a city council-appointed Task Force to write has now come to a standstill with this new Village Laguna lawsuit. They are asking the court to “set aside approval of the new HPO pending CEQA compliance”.
The HPO Task Force, whose task it was to help in the writing of a new HPO, was appointed by councilmembers Toni Iseman and Steve Dicterow. It was composed of 11 members and included members of Village Laguna as well as other concerned residents. The direction to the Task Force by councilmember Steve Dicterow was there would be no artificial timeline or deadline. It would be assumed that no rules or ordinances were in place and start from zero to discern what discretion the City has regarding a HPO. As it turned out, the City does have discretion and is not required by the State, California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) or the Coastal Commission to have a HPO. The overwhelming objection of homeowners to the existing ordinance was that their property rights were being taken away by forcing them onto a historical inventory without their permission, and then because they were on the inventory they were subjected to unnecessary and costly expenses when they chose to make improvements to their homes.
I am disappointed by this lawsuit because lawsuits are by nature divisive and costly and because the work of the last five years was well done and approved by the City Council. As the owner of a 1916 home and over 50-year resident, I support an incentive-based voluntary Historical Preservation Ordinance. I remember what Mayor Bob Gentry stated May 2, 1989 when he said, “It was never intended that this be anything but voluntary.” That is, property rights were recognized and respected early on. Respectfully,
Patricia Carpenter, North Laguna Tree Streets
