I support the reasonable and progressive efforts of residents who want to move Laguna Beach forward by protecting the often-forgotten peoples of this city from corporate overdevelopment. The inclusion of all Laguna Beach residents is imperative when determining the future of our city.
Laguna Beach is a wonderful place to live. My family began to rent our apartment in 2013 and have cherished our time in this truly unique city. To be honest, I cannot think of a better place to live than this beautiful art community along the sea.
The opinions and rights of all residents in this city should be preserved, including the opinions and rights of renters. All residents have “skin in the game” and should be a part of the decision-making process of determining our future.
Laguna Beach should be thankful and grateful for renters, who invest in the town’s future both civically and financially, just like Laguna’s homeowners. Believe it or not, 37.5% of Laguna Beach’s residents are renters and the renter population in California is more diverse in both ethnicity and age than the homeowner population. Given that Laguna Beach already lacks demographic diversity, excluding the voices of renters would be at a detriment to the city as it pursues a bright and prosperous future. What is more, given the diverse population of renters, to exclude the opinions and diminish the rights of renters is at best ill-informed and elitist.
Many of the empty storefronts that are on Coast Highway are owned or controlled by the same company. As our signature Hotel Laguna sits closed as a monument to corporate greed, we must ask, do we want the defining first impression of our city and the future of our community held in the hands of one company? As a 25-year-old who has worked hard to remain in this city, I emphatically say “No!”
We must press on with all efforts to save our city from the Disneyfication of Laguna Beach. If we fail, the inclusive Laguna we know will be a relic of the past. Building for corporate profits and excluding 37.5% of the city from voicing their opinions is certainly not going to save Laguna Beach. Democracy and civic engagement will save the city we all love.
Joe Gordon, Laguna Beach
Thank you Joe! I agree with you and hope Laguna’s renters and homeowners will too. And equally as important, that we take a united stand with the developers (and their vocal groupies creating local discord as a distraction from the serious situation) who are promoting rumors that “we are dying” in order to swoop in to overdevelop our city. I think most Laguna folks support progressive ideas and reasonable development. Current nor future renters will not fare well if this handful of investors takes over our beautiful coastal town. Especially with the scope and scale of their projects. We’re not talking cheap or even reasonable rentals for sure. Their “city clean up” proposal means “to make as much money as possible”, not to improve our city by making it safe, clean, neat or orderly.
Very well said, Joe. I originally made the comment “no skin in the game” applying in particular to councilman Peter Blake who voted against the motion to keep laguna residential areas from becoming mini motels. Blake, of course, has a business and is therefore not interested in the fact that allowing short term rentals in residential areas would decrease the available housing to those such as you but also increase the cost of long term rentals as well since in most cases it would be more profitable to rent daily or weekly than have long term tenants. His only interest seems to be in increasing the hordes of tourists for which property owners and indirectly renters pay an extra 20 million dollars a year to support these tourists. This would, of course increase his business as well as the value of his building all at our expense not just monetarily but also in the degradation of our the quality of life. And now Blake and the rest of the owners of property in the downtown area want us to pay an additional 15 million dollars so the trees which are a symbol of Laguna Beach especially those on Forest, Ocean and Broadway Avenues can be cut down and be replaced by 8 to 10 foot saplings that would ruin the iconic look of these areas. I say if the building owners believe these areas need improvement let them come up with a plan and the money and submit it to the people for approval. Enough of the subsidies by the rest of us.