I just read the big ad of “Laguna Residents First” and I would like to address some of their big points.
Maintain Laguna’s Livability – don’t know what that means but my assumption is that Laguna Residents First was created as new voice for the old voice of Village Laguna since it doesn’t seem to get much attention any more. I have lived here since 1979 and I have yet to see Village Laguna take any initiatives in creating a safe environment given our location. We should be undergrounding our utilities (how the poles add charm is beyond me). When they fall they create potential hazards and seen to be an underlying factor in many fires and loss of electricity to folks. When they topple in the canyon along with trees the city is limited in what it can do in case of an emergency. As part of this comment—all the years that Village Laguna has had control of city council—all that was accomplished was basically doing “studies” and paying consultants year after year. What their efforts were focused on were parties, committees and trying to run the city from their point of view. When VL was not in control of city council (as is the case now) things got done—we finally have a Wildfire Mitigation and Fire Safety Plan. The streets have gone through refurbishment, the sewer lines have been improved, and the street signals are improved, etc.
Right now street lighting on Glenneyre is bad and there are many accidents on that street but VL does not want to change that. They want to buy this small lot on PCH to make an “official” park so that they can hold recruiting meetings while the current city council is trying to improve safety with another fire station. And, don’t forget the Poop Processor, spending millions for what, no plan in mind.
Control Traffic and Parking – Never want to plan a parking structure where many cars can park sight unseen – instead make one parking lot smaller by 100 plus cars and cut revenue. The business districts needs visitors to buy things and enjoy our many restaurants. This is part of traffic control? People drive around looking for parking and creating pollution while at it. Friends and family don’t like going into town anymore. So what does that do to you business?
More to come on this.
Ganka Brown, Laguna Beach
