Having spent three years fearing people like Ann Christoph and her group, I wasn’t going to waste another second on this, but as the owner of 434 Aster, I am compelled to respond.
The recent memory of fighting for our right to build a new home on our property in both the Design Review Board meeting and the City Council hearing still brings shudders of fear, anger and frustration. Ann Christoph and Cathy Jurica attempted to destroy our lives by filing an appeal to prevent the demolition of the cottage. Why? Apparently, so that other people, in passing, could look at it.
What she doesn’t mention is the three years we spent anxiously hoping and the tens of thousands of dollars it cost us just to be able to demolish the cottage, which, in the end, took only 45 minutes to come down.
After these many years of work, I finally have plans submitted to the building department for review. I learned how to design and draft architectural plans. I got these plans through LB zoning, and now I’m going to get them through the LB building department. We are not rich, and we can barely believe the per-square-foot cost of building our modest single-story home in Laguna Beach. Ann Christoph and Cathy Jurica don’t care about the fear, anger and frustration they have wrought on us and other owners in Laguna Beach. It’s just my opinion, but I believe that Ann Christoph and Cathy Jurica only cared about the power it gave them over us, but no longer.
One more thing. Who is to say that I am not a part of Laguna Beach’s history in building a home that I designed on a property my family has owned since 1963?
Bryn Mathieu, Laguna Beach
It is my understanding that Cathy Jurica is from Glendale…
If true, what right does she have to file appeals to stop Laguna Beach homeowners from redeveloping their own properties ??