Here we go again! Village Laguna (VL) thinks they know what’s best for our private properties. They have filed a lawsuit against the city of Laguna Beach to invalidate the new Historic Preservation Ordinance (HPO). VL is claiming that a full environmental impact study needs to be completed before we can adopt the HPO. This is not true there is no state law mandating that a city have a HPO, inventory, registry or survey. 80% of California cities have no ordinance but have voluntary historic programs.
Homeowners throughout Laguna came to multiple meetings over five years to support a voluntary incentive base plan for preservation of historic properties. We formed a task force to collaboratively revise the HPO with the input of homeowners and residents. But now VL want to invalidate the ordinance and not listen to what the majority of homeowners have said, that they are in favor of a voluntary HPO. Without our steady voices and support in over 30 public hearings conducted since 2016, this could have gone a different way. But we hung in, and the City Council passed the new ordinance. Our voices and stories rose above the regular noise you have heard since 1982. We took a preservation program that started as voluntary and incentive based, and we returned it to a voluntary and incentive-based program. The new ordinance clearly invalidates the old inventory but now there is a push with this lawsuit to continue to sow confusion as to inventory listed properties. Without the owner’s permission, their home could be considered a “Historic Resource”.
Over the years the old HPO caused homeowners huge expenses and years of delays from the city to be able to remodel a home. This created an unfair burden to the homeowners. The majority of Laguna Beach owners successfully challenged this process and deemed the preservation of a home is at the “pleasure of the homeowner not the city.” Laguna Beach has many reviews and fail-safe measures in place in our city to prevent over-development. As an owner of a 1922 North Laguna cottage, I value and appreciate our environment and believe that we can maintain our beautiful city by incentives to homeowners that list their properties on the Laguna Beach Registry. Please put residents first by respecting property rights and leave the HPO as it was approved by the City Council in July 2020. Thank you.
Marilyn Alexander, Laguna Beach
Marylin Alexander, Village Laguna did not file the lawsuit. VL joined the lawsuit at the last minute long after it was filed. Please read the LTE from Armando Baez for the facts. It appears there is a well orchestrated effort to denigrate Village Laguna but at least get some of the facts straight.
“Please read the Armando Baez LTE for the facts”? What a joke!
Bottom line is Village Laguna is suing our community in order to deprive us of our property rights.
Nice try!
Looking beyond who filed the lawsuit (we all know who in town is behind it) – bottom line: shouldn’t homeowners have the choice as to whether or not their home is listed on a historic inventory? Why should it be mandatory? Seems like a thick layer of red tape we don’t need and shouldn’t have.
Attention must be paid to this attempt at a blatant grab of property rights.