Legion hall repairs are much appreciated I...

Legion hall repairs are much appreciated

I taught a dance class at Legion Hall and was so pleased to see it

in better shape than before.

The lawn had been tended to -- aerated and fertilized. It was much

greener than before. New plants were in all of the beds with new soil

amendment and the entrance was cleaner.

I have also been told that the fence will be given a face-lift and

will possibly be replaced if budgeted next year. The outside and

inside of the building will be getting a coat of paint the week prior

to Christmas and carpets will be cleaned thereafter. And as usual,

the dance floor will be resurfaced during the holidays.

Much heartfelt thanks to the city for honoring our veterans by

tending to the community space enjoyed by so many.

KIMBERLY BIXLER LEEDS

Laguna Beach

Parking at the

city yard is key

Many people have spoken to me about needing more parking near the

Downtown -- not only the business owners and arts groups, but

residents, too.

In my mind, one doesn’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that

we need more parking -- especially in the summertime. And, I think

you’ll agree, it makes sense that if we want year-round events at the

Festival of Arts grounds (which was an explicit goal in the new lease

between the city and the festival) and year-round productions at the

playhouse, that it would be very beneficial to have more year-round,

close-in parking.

On Dec. 2, the City Council will be discussing the move of the

city’s maintenance facilities -- which are located at the gateway to

our city, across from the playhouse and festival grounds -- to

another location ... behind the ACT V parking lot on Laguna Canyon

Road.

Currently, the maintenance facilities, which I call the city’s

“motor pool,” houses many employees and it is where our city vehicles

(excluding police cars, ambulances and fire trucks) are housed and

maintained.

I think you will agree that a beautiful Village Entrance with a

large parking garage planned for the future -- would be a better use

of that space for our residents and businesses.

A bit of history: The item for the purchase of the ACT V parcel

was presented to the City Council in Aug. 20, 1996, after a Village

Entrance Task Force was formed to recommend how the Village Entrance

should be created. The plan recommended a move of the city’s

maintenance yard to ACT V. The motion to purchase land for a

Maintenance Yard and a parking lot was approved unanimously. The

minutes of that Aug. 20, 1996 meeting reads as follows:

“Moved by council member [Steve] Dicterow, seconded by council

member [Wayne] Baglin and carried unanimously to direct the city

manager to consummate the acquisition of the ACT V parcel from the

Irvine Company for $700,000 after the receipt of the final geologic

report and conditioned on there being no additional constraints

revealed in the report; direct the city manager to solicit proposals

for an architect to design a new corporation yard at the ACT V site

... “

The city received permits from the county to construct the

project, as the land is technically in the county. This was the most

expeditious way by using that plan, we save time because we do not

have to re-apply and re-appear at the California Coastal Commission.

Much engineering for the project was completed but only the parking

component of the plan was executed

Over the years, councils have changed -- and some council members’

minds have changed -- however, and because of that, we still have the

maintenance yard smack-dab in the center of what should be one of the

most beautiful city entryways in the country.

A current council majority (Cheryl Kinsman, Dicterow and me) voted

several times over this last year to go back to the original plan and

to construct the maintenance yard facility on the site, since that

was why the property was purchased in the first place. While some

parking spaces will be eliminated at the Act V lot with this plan

(the lot is full, at most, 17 days out of the year -- eight week-ends

and Labor Day) by adding the new maintenance yard, the lost spaces

will be made up almost entirely by spaces that the Laguna Art College

has made available for us during the summer for years, but which we

have not taken advantage of since the construction of the gravel lot.

There are other reasons we should proceed with the maintenance

yard move:

Our city employees are working in sub-standard conditions (to say

the least). I am embarrassed that we ask our employees to work in the

kind of environment they are forced to endure. Why should we be

asking our employees to work in a dark, dank “mole hole” as they call

it?

Opponents of our plan wish to have the maintenance yard placed in

the ground floor of our new garage. First of all, the big trucks that

need housing won’t fit under the height planned. Second, all the

city’s maintenance yard functions cannot fit into the ground floor of

the planned garage. And last, why should the best parking in town

(the ground floor of the garage near the Playhouse) be used for a

maintenance facility?

Have we looked for alternative sites? Yes. Greg Vail’s committee

on the Village Entrance Task force (created to develop the concept

for the Village Entrance in 1995) looked for eight months at other

locations. This location, they concluded, was the only one available

to house all the facilities.

We have the funds to pay for the maintenance yard move and the

building construction -- as well as the gravel lot in front.

Our residents want more year-round, close-in parking. Let’s face

it, residents will not go out to the ACT V lot in the Canyon, then

park and take a shuttle into town.

Opponents state that there hasn’t been enough public input on the

project. You should know that beginning Oct. 3, 1995, there have been

at least 26 agenda items allowing public input (both at the Design

Review Board and City Council level) on the maintenance yard.

If you agree that we need more year-round, close-in parking and a

more beautiful city entryway, I urge residents, businesses and

members of the arts venues to join us at the Dec. 2 City Council

meeting where we will discuss the recommendation of the approval by

the Design Review Board -- and at the Dec. 16 Board of Supervisors

meeting, where we will be asking the board to uphold their Planning

Commission’s decision (4 to 1 vote) to allow the city to use new

county permits to expeditiously proceed with the maintenance

yard/gravel lot project.

Once we have our project, we can annex the property and make it a

part of the city of Laguna Beach.

ELIZABETH PEARSON

Councilwoman,

Laguna Beach

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