Opinion: Musings on the Coast

Why Won’t Village Laguna Debate: Part 2

Several weeks ago in this column, I posed the question, “Why won’t Village Laguna debate?” and got what I expected: nothing. They refuse.

I think I know one reason why: their stance on fire safety.

Here’s a little history:

In the fall of 1993 and driven by Santa Ana winds, a firestorm hit Laguna that destroyed more than 400 homes and cost billions (in today’s dollars). I was driving home from work on Newport Coast Drive, but PCH was closed at Newport Coast Drive, and I was stopped half a mile up the Drive where I watched the fire jump from the land side of PCH at Irvine Cove to the ocean side—just like that, in the blink of an eye. It was terrifying. Much of upper Emerald Bay burned to the ground, then the wind shifted and turned toward town where the fire jumped Laguna Canyon Road and destroyed much of upper mid-town. Later, the wind shifted yet again and the fire finally burned itself out.

Here is a fact about the fire and Village Laguna: our fire department ran out of fire water. It ran out of water because a planned and approved three-million-gallon water reservoir was stopped in its tracks by Village Laguna and specifically by then city councilmember Ann Christoph.

But do not believe me. Below, is a letter to editor date Jan. 17, 1999, to Los Angeles Times from Louis Zitnik, then vice president of the Laguna Beach County Water District:

“Ann Christoph stated that the Laguna Beach County Water District requested that a reservoir be built in the Top of the World open space in 1992. Actually, the City Council approved this project in midyear 1990, [and] a 3-million-gallon reservoir would have been completed in 1992, months before the 1993 firestorm…” and “Unquestionably, many of these houses [destroyed by the fire] could have been saved with the availability of this additional water. Unfortunately, ‘no growth’ advocates were able to convince the 1990 City Council to rescind approval of this reservoir…” which was approved only after the fire.

Another letter published that same day in The Times by Martha Lydick, who wrote, “As a fire victim, I was appalled”… by Ann Christoph… ”claiming no responsibility”…“she excuses herself for the fact that our homes burned because there was no water… she, with her cohorts [on the City Council], delayed the construction of the reservoir until it was too late… And it was not available because she did not want the reservoir in the greenbelt area though it was buried and invisible.” And finally, “Our home burned because she was in office.”

I bring this up because in an Indy column dated May 27, 2022, Christoph chided Laguna Niguel (after the recent fire there) for not following her advice against placing new homes on ridgetops (higher fire risk because of wind updrafts).

She goes on to mention a conflagration in Bel Air which, also not following her post-fire advice, suffered its own firestorm. “… homeowners paid a terrible price. And the public agencies spent untold resources trying to defend the indefensible. We could have avoided this tragedy.”

Oh boy, Christoph, you do have chutzpah, chiding others while denying your own responsibility for Laguna’s own conflagration. Or that Village Laguna, then controlling the City Council, had any responsibility. Or that even today, Village Laguna opposes other fire-prevention measures.

No wonder you will not debate. But come on, give it a try. Debate with any responsible party on the other side.

Michael is a Laguna Beach resident and principal officer emeritus of Laguna Forward PAC.