Editor,
I hope the City Council supports the Longi artist/live work project on April 1. It will benefit our community in two important ways: First it will provide affordable housing to artists who are the core of our beloved city, and second it will eliminate one of the many vacant lots that are not landscaped and have parked cars on them.
I have lived in Laguna Beach for more than 35 years. My husband and I own a business downtown as well as one on Laguna Canyon Road, not far from the proposed project. I think the artist live/work project will be a beautiful addition, visually to the canyon. Unfortunately many of the opponents believe the project will create more traffic in the canyon. If it was a commercial business instead of a residential project I might agree, but it’s not.
In North Laguna where I have raised our three children, a vacant lot recently was developed on Coast Highway. It looks and feels much better than a lot with no landscaping and cars parked on it. The new building in the canyon and the beautiful landscaping proposed not only will be aesthetically pleasing, it will become a buffer for traffic noise to nearby residents. My feeling is if something creative can happen in North Laguna, it can also happen in the canyon as well.
Pam Levin, Laguna Beach
