Editor,
Those who oppose the historic preservation ordinance say that being identified as historic resources will diminish the value of their homes and make them difficult to sell, but this is counter to real estate ads in the local paper. Three real-estate sections of the Indy have several listings for historic cottages. In fact, one was advertised recently as a “historic Village cottage restored to perfection by one of Laguna’s great cottage architects, Greg Abel,” another is written up as a secluded cottage “design awarded by Greg Abel,” and another as a “Classic Laguna cottage.”
Many of these Laguna cottages are C-rated, and are in demand and have value. If fact, a realtor testified at a resent Planning Commission meeting saying, these cottages “sell like hotcakes”.
When revising the historic preservation ordinance it is imperative to recognize the C ratings as historical resources.
Darrylin Girvin, Laguna Beach
Darrylin Girvin – your comment may or may not be right, but it doesn’t address why these property owners should be forced onto the list. The historic register is essentially a government takeover of personal property.
Secondly, all properties in Laguna sell like hotcakes. These is no data in your comment with regard to the time on the market, price versus baseline, etc with regard to these properties versus anything not on the list.
If your comment is true, that is great. But it doesn’t mean a private property owner should be forced onto the list, reducing their ability to make the alterations and changes that all other property owners are allowed to make.
Louis