Neighbors should be open with others There...

Neighbors should

be open with others

There was an extensive letter from a reader regarding her attempts

to placate her neighbors regarding construction of her home.

Perhaps her neighbors have experienced what we have. Neighbors who

were remodeling led us to believe that the rail on their upper deck

that impacts our view would be replaced in kind. Imagine our surprise

over a year later when we returned from an extended vacation to find

that a solid stucco railing was replacing the wrought-iron rail.

Only one of the three people who approached us with their plans

lived up to what they told us. Is it any wonder that neighbors get a

little picky before construction begins. After all, once the project

is approved the only way you can discover any changes are by visiting

the city building department daily/weekly/monthly or watch it happen

when it is too late to do anything except go to court.

NORA HIGGINS

Laguna Beach

View preservation has many loopholes

Just recently a neighbor planted a 15-gallon plant which,

according to a handout available in the lobby of our City Hall that

describes Landscape Rules and Regulations, had to be approved as part

of a landscape plan if the property met the criteria, namely that it

was subject to Design Review Board approval.

In this case, the neighbor was doing a major re-landscape plan and

their property file in the city contained a statement that they may

be subject to Design Review.

Coincidentally enough, since I raised the issue of this violation

of the landscape handout, the Design Review Board mysteriously

decided that even if this was a major re-landscape plan, it did not

have to be approved by them. Hence, I, along with anyone else in the

neighborhood, could not raise the issue of view preservation as

provided in our infamous view preservation ordinance.

So here again the city has created a vehicle by which to bypass

not only the landscape regulations and ordinance -- documents created

to help with view issues that can help mitigate future problems made

even more toothless. What a shame, so much tax payers dollars going

for naught. This action is filled with implications about how

responsive the city is to citizens trying to implement and obey city

rules.

GANKA BROWN

Laguna Beach

Village is forthright about its goals

The Charm House Tour is an annual celebration of all that Village

Laguna believes in, not just a Political Action Committee fundraiser.

Close to 100 volunteers give of their time and energy to do just

that, to share the charm and camaraderie and homespun fun of Laguna

with anyone who wants to pay to see five glorious and different

houses here in the village.

Our task is to keep the small-town atmosphere and preserve the

charm and history of the community, our community, Laguna Beach, and

we work hard to accomplish that. Yes, we are for slow growth, not

development, and yes, we support candidates for City Council who are

like-minded. Does this make us just a political action committee? I

think not.

Did anyone read this year’s Charm House Tour brochure? The last

bullet point (one of seven) on this brochure says we “support local

city and school board candidates.” Every ticket-holder gets a

brochure. The majority of folks in Laguna Beach and on the tour know

who we are and it’s no secret what we are about. Didn’t we go through

this at City Hall just last year?

Lagunans should be thankful and supportive of all the volunteers

of Village Laguna. They are most responsible for our quality of life

in this fair town. This is where I want to be -- slow growth and all.

CHARLOTTE MASARIK

Laguna Beach

The Coastline Pilot is eager to run your letters. If you would

like to submit a letter, write to us at P.O. Box 248, Laguna Beach,

CA 92652; fax us at (949) 494-8979; or send e-mail to

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