Editor,
I see by the two thoughtful letters last week that a few more people are awaking to the destruction of Laguna’s once priceless view sheds by overgrown non-native vegetation. For many long years a group of us have written letters, attended countless meetings, and did a lot of research as to what other view-oriented cities had done to see what could be done to save views. As result we wrote a very fair, effective, economical draft ordinance that was submitted to the city.
Initially, it was well received but then a cabal of tree lovers and arborists were able to convince the city to not use it. Subsequently, many years later, as the view obstructions continued to worsen, another group was formed to see if a workable ordinance could be created. I initially participated, but soon realized that the direction it was going would result in a very lengthy, complex and costly ordinance that only a rich person could afford to use.
Mr. Haynes in a letter last week pretty well sums up the problem by writing: “ I don’t see anything here motivating the violators to maintain the code. As a matter of fact all of the burden and costs are placed on the party that is being violated.”
As I have written before, I sum up the new ordinance this way. It is an ineffective costly ordinance written by lawyers for the benefit of landscapers, arbitrators, administrators, and the people who created the problems by growing oversized vegetation. I might add that nature provided Laguna with a unique topography ideally suited for open, beautiful and spacious view sheds. All of the unnecessary destruction of the view sheds, both public and private, has been done by non-native vegetation, including the useless eucalyptus that also create fire and falling threats.
Dave Connell, Laguna Beach
