Like most Laguna Beach residents, I’m passionate about our great town, and now that I’m on the campaign trail, I see that in every person I meet and every organization I’m in contact with. It’s why Laguna is such a vibrant community.
I’ve been impressed with the care locals take to nurture this vibrancy and the deep knowledge most have about how our community evolved. People’s roots are deep here, which is just one reason why I am committed to represent this community to the best of my ability. It’s something not everyone understands. It’s vitally important for my growing family, too, to retain this strong sense of community.
I realize that there are different opinions on key issues. That’s exactly why I have chosen to be an independent candidate. I want to make a difference, but in a way that encourages us all to work together on challenges so that we bring out the best of Laguna Beach. With your confidence in me and support, I strongly believe I can deliver.
As your representative, I will focus on the needs of the community as a whole. I’m independent, experienced in city challenges, and forward-thinking.
Here’s my checklist to make Laguna an even better place to live now and in the future. I want to develop a vision for Laguna Beach as the best it can be in 2040 and 2050. This means:
Align visions for the future:
Ensure that goals and strategy are in alignment with community needs and wants
Ensure that planning documents align with and complement each other for best results
Prioritize infrastructure improvement: parking, parks, and paths (biking and walking)
Prioritize safety: fire safety, utility safety, and community and school safety
Prioritize Sustainability: focus on sustainable solutions to infrastructure challenges and champion ocean and canyon conservation.
These will be my goals; these will be my passions. I hope you will vote for me in November so that, going forward, we can return civility and positive thinking to our city’s decision-making.
Louis Weil, Laguna Beach
Hi Louis, thank you for pointing out the issues that are of concern to you and many of us. However there several things I have never heard you speak to. Our cultural heritage and future? This is supposedly an art colony but what is being done to make sure what’s left of the real working artists in this community will be able to continue to work and live here? There are not enough studios and affordable housing? We have bled artists over the 47 years I have lived here because of affordability and lack of real studio spaces. It surprises me you have never made mention of this? It is said that a society or in this case, a city is judged on how they treat their creatives. How do you think this town rates in regards to that statement? Generalities don’t get people elected.
Jorg, If you can actually get a substantiated answer out of Louis I will applaud you. There appears to be no concise or direct answer ever to a question, lot’s of fluff and puff!
He writes, Ensure that goals and strategy are in alignment with community needs and wants. So what does that mean? Doesn’t mention what his goals and strategy are for the community, I mean this is a “Nothing Burger” of a statement. I think he needs to go sit down at his gifted oceanfront house and figure some stuff out! He must think everyone is an idiot.
Jorg, great questions. Yes, I do support the artist community, and Laguna Beach is undoubtedly an artist colony. I have a great deal of respect for and enjoy about living here. Currently the city budgets $3.1m for the cultural arts programs, throughout town. I do support these kinds of vital investment for maintaining that Laguna Beach Art Heritage.
Housing is a challenge, for artist and others in our community. When I was on the affordable housing task force, we worked on concepts to address the lack of availability and locations. Which some of those were discussed and added into parts of the Housing Element process. Also, in that group the idea of creating a public-private housing trust for affordable housing, I believe this should be explored more especially for future artist. However, I do project there will be a slight increase in inventory as the processing of ADU’s has been on the rise. Which may provide some benefits for housing stock in our community. Lastly, I do believe we need to create the right kinds of infrastructure on that balance multiple needs, in key locations. IE. If as a community we decided to build a parking structure in the downtown, we need to be more creative in that process to address multi-purpose and function into the right fit designs. Like adding community artist stalls or showcase units into these public projects or public recreation of pickle ball / basketball courts on the top floor in non peak months. Happy to talk with you more on these, and thanks for the question Jorg
Regulate Regulate Regulate for the noble causes of Blah Blah Blah Blah Blah. How to improve Laguna Beach? Besides outlawing fishing in the ocean. Nurturing vagrants and drug addicts. Ruining retail? Sell off the entire canyon to tax paying citizens who’d love to live there and eliminate fire threats, and cut lifeguard salaries from a hundred thou. Let Peter our Leader fix what needs to be done.
Thanks for your response Louis. Saying you support artists and the art community is great. But a lot of folks say the same thing. The fact is is that Laguna has been bleeding artists for decades. No affordable housing and no studios to work in. Your answers are again generalities. Over the years , the city in it’s wisdom and short sightedness has outlawed home studios for those who do more then paint in their kitchens. They never made accommodations for where those artists would be able to work! And younger generations of artists? They can’t afford this joint! What does that mean? It meant an exodus of artists from town. I don’t think you really understand the plight of real working artists in this community, (the few that are left). Many are struggling to maintain a foothold here. Platitudes about how you support the art community don’t get it done. We are turning into a very expensive retirement community with six million visitors each year. The artists are getting squeezed out! Solutions to this, (if the city really even cares), are not easy. However if we are to maintain a vital art community then some serious effort and vision will have to be forthcoming. ADU’s are NOT going to be cheap and affordable. Real studio spaces are non existent! Look at how the city and some in the community treated Louis Longi! 15 years to try and do something to alleviate the very issues I speak to. Louis, if you want to truly understand and do something for the creatives in this town, I suggest talking to real full time working artists who are struggling to maintain and be part of the cultural heritage of the “art colony”….
Since Jorg Dubin gave you such a ringing endorsement I assume you will be getting a glowing endorsement from Peter Blake and of course Michael Ray. The reason I expect this is because Blake has on numerous occasions called village Laguna “pigs”. Dubin, apparently Blake’s acolyte, in a letter to the editor which was signed “ Jorg Dubin, Planning Commissioner followed the same agenda against Village Laguna. The tittle of Dubin’s tirade against Village Laguna was “Stop the Squeal”. At least Dubin seems to have improved somewhat from his misogynistic and some say pornographic Christmas Card gambit. As to Ray supporting you, since Peter Blake is by Ray’s own words a mentor to Ray’s children in his ringing endorsement in an LTE titled “In Defense Of Peter Blake” I would expect the same endorsement from him. The “Defense” LTE was written in response to comments against the first few months of Blake’s boorish and bullying tactics as a councilman, tactics that are on display very every council meeting.
I and many voters would like to see you take a stand on issues. My question to you as a voter is: after you have analysed the Agenda item 14 of the city council meeting of May 10, 2022 please tell us why or why not you approve of the resulting Memorandum of Understanding between the Presbyterian Church and the City of Laguna beach. The city negotiators were lead by councilman Peter Blake and the city manager Shoreh Dupuis. Since I understand you are a real estate salesperson and obviously very interested in our parking problems I personally am looking forward to your opinion.
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well…..I am waiting for a answer, any answer..there it is folks..point made. Please consider who you vote for and make it someone that isn’t just a name you know, but someone that has answers or commitment or passion or something!!…just a thought!