Shack plans in motion

Barbara Diamond

The Planning Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to recommend City

Council approval of proposed alterations to the Pottery Shack,

despite almost unanimous opposition by neighbors.

“You dare not pass this on to the Design Review Board or to the

City Council unless you accept responsibility for traffic deaths or

accidents,” neighbor Rik Lawrence said.

Lawrence is a member of the Flatlanders Neighborhood Assn., which

was formed to oppose the increased uses and size at the site because

of concerns about safety and parking impacts.

“Size matters in shoes, belts and parking lots,” Lawrence said.

Roger von Butow, speaking on behalf of the association said the

hearing should have been continued because the neighbors and the

association had only a week’s notice of changes to the project, which

were heard Wednesday. He said California environmental laws require a

20-day notice, but Community Development Director John Montgomery

said that applies only to City Council hearings, not Planning

Commission hearings.

No appeal of the commission recommendation will be necessary. The

proposal includes a reduction in parking requirements, which must be

approved by the council. The council hearing has been scheduled for

Feb. 1.

A recommended 53% reduction is a trade off for the owner putting

the Pottery Shake property on the Heritage List and accepting 56

conditions of approval.

The proposal recommended by the commission included an increase of

1,867 square feet to the project, almost evenly divided between the

building on Glenneyre Street and the buildings on South Coast

Highway.

A 2,783 square-foot, 113-seat restaurant is proposed for the

highway structures, which also will include five retail suites and

three office suites.

Owner Joe Anhauer lowered his request for a reduction in parking

from the council approved 55% of standard requirements to 53%,

proposing 41 on-site spaces.

Opponents said that number is not enough for an estimated 50-plus

employees, not to mention customers or diners.

“I will be one of the people visiting this restaurant, and when I

come down the hill, I am going to take the first available parking

space,” Laguna Beach resident Robin Hall said. “I will be parking in

front of [homes]. That’s the truth.

“This is a wonderful project, but who will benefit?”

Anhauer said of course the developer would benefit .

“That’s why we do these things,” he said.

Commission Chair Norm Grossman said the city code says that

preserving historical structures benefits the whole city and that is

why incentives are offered to owners to preserve the structures.

“It is a balancing act,” Grossman said. “There are no easy

decisions. If there were, we would have machines up here. We are

doing our best.”

Hall said quality of life should be one of the factors in the

decision.

“You have to ask for something for the neighborhood and that is

‘locals only parking,” Hall said.

Robert Bryson, who lives and works near the Pottery Shack, said

the project would not solve the parking problems in Laguna Beach.

“We live in a wonderful community and people want to come here,”

Bryson said.

If they come, they will have to park.

The commission added conditions Wednesday designed to boost the

parking potential at the Pottery Shack: valet parking from 6 to 10

p.m. and transportation demand management tools, called TDMs, which

include incentives for carpooling and biking or bussing to work. The

commission will review the parking situation six months after the

restaurant opens.