Editor,
I was disappointed with the Independent’s misleading title, “Planners Step Away from Tighter Historic Rules,” to describe the Planning Commission’s decision not to approve the proposed changes to the city’s historic preservation ordinance. The proposed changes will in fact loosen restrictions.
To comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), alterations to C-rated properties must now comply with the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation (SOIS) or face additional environmental review, usually the preparation of a focused Environmental Impact Report. The revised ordinance would create more flexibility for owners of these properties to alter them by creating local CEQA exemptions that do not require adherence to the SOIS.
Until a new preservation ordinance is passed, the old, more stringent requirements are still in effect. The new incentives for historic preservation are not made available to property owners. Owners must continue to pay for any required historic resource evaluations themselves.
Some speakers at the meeting appeared to believe that because the inventory has not been updated since 1981, properties identified as E-, K-, or C-rated structures at that time are no longer considered historic resources subject to review and consideration under CEQA. And that if the inventory is eliminated, these and other previously un-surveyed properties cannot be considered historic resources under CEQA without the property owner’s consent. Neither of these propositions is true.
The proposed historic preservation ordinance could no doubt be cleaned up. But it represents a serious effort to preserve the historic character and quality of Laguna Beach while both providing flexibility to owners of C-rated properties who want or need to perform upgrades and alterations and meeting the requirements of CEQA. I very much hope it passes.
Catherine Jurca, Laguna Beach
