Village Laguna has nothing to do with the lawsuit regarding the project at 369 Hawthorne (Kirby), nor has it ever been involved in that lawsuit. Despite repeated corrections, supporters of the Kirbys have continued to promote the idea that Village Laguna is involved in that lawsuit.
The Historic Architecture Alliance (HAA) and Laguna Beach Historic Preservation Coalition (LBHPC) filed suit against the City to require preparation of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Kirby project. If the City or the Kirbys had agreed to prepare the EIR, to analyze historic resource impacts only, the suit would be over. Instead of preparing the required analysis, a strategy to discredit Village Laguna has been launched, even though Village Laguna is not and has never been a party to this lawsuit. Unfortunately, this strategy has prolonged the process of resolving the case and continues to delay the Kirbys’ ability to proceed with the work on the property.
This fabrication is obviously intended to discredit Village Laguna, an organization that has for more than fifty years worked to ensure that development in Laguna Beach is appropriate to the character and scale of our unique community. Developers and some residents want big changes, and they may think by hitching their cause to the plight of the Kirbys they will fool voters into thinking that Measure Q or residents’ concerns about maintaining quality development have something to do with the Kirby project. They do not.
Village Laguna is participating in a completely different action against the California Coastal Commission and the City of Laguna Beach for changes to the Downtown Specific Plan and Historic Preservation Ordinance, which removed protections for hundreds of historic resources in Laguna Beach and changed invaluable parking incentives for historic properties downtown without studying the environmental impacts of these changes. None of this has anything to do with the Kirby project.
Anne Caenn, President, Village Laguna
, nor has it ever been involved in that lawsuit. Despite repeated corrections, supporters of the Kirbys have continued to promote the idea that Village Laguna is involved in that lawsuit. ){kind=link}