Parking problems only getting worse As many...

Parking problems only getting worse

As many of us are aware, the Montage Resort has a very serious

employee parking problem. Original development permits for the hotel

stipulated that all employee parking was to be on site. Due to inept

oversight and nonenforcement by the city, some 340 employee cars are

parked off-site on a daily basis.

This number was determined by a diligent and documented physical

count conducted by a group of concerned and dedicated residents.

The majority of the City Council has decided to put a band-aid on

the cancer by approving (with special, but as yet, unclear

conditions) a permanent parking lot at the old Unocal gas station

property adjacent to Ruby’s restaurant and by approving the extension

of a temporary use permit for the narrow strip that parallels to

Coast Highway to the south of the Unocal parcel. In total, these two

parcels will provide 105 parking spaces.

Temporary use permits were issued early last year for these two

parcels to allow the Montage time to seek a permanent remedy to the

problem. They have not done so. The new permits effectively maintain

the status quo. During the three hour session on this issue late

Tuesday night, Councilwoman Toni Isman showed through as thoughtful

and innovative. Jane Egly is new to the council and is thoughtful and

will prove worthy. As for the other three -- a truly pitiful

performance.

When is a majority of our City Council going to face up to their

responsibility and deal openly, fairly, and wisely with all of the

city’s parking problems? If they continue to put off and delay

developing real and long lasting solutions, we’re all going to choke

on it.

I can hardly wait for summer.

DAN FREEMAN

Laguna Beach

Parking solutions are citywide need

How many months of genuine effort has it taken the Village

Flatlanders screaming at City Hall to be heard?

Eight months and growing. Something like the proverbial “dog with

a bone.” We intend to see this through to a satisfactory solution.

How many years have we been hearing the cries “we need parking!” How

many years have we heard from the Planning Commission and City

Council: “We know we got a problem, but we don’t know how to fix it?”

Certainly not with another stupid, expensive, wasteful parking study.

Now that “they” have approved the Pottery Shack shopping center

without adequate parking -- remember 41 spaces for a 113-seat

restaurant, several new retail stores and several thousand square

feet of office space. Last week’s showing at City Council proved that

this issue will not go away until some good solutions are found and

implemented. Now all eyes are on our council, with Steve Dicterow now

our leader in charge. He is the one member who has consistently stuck

to his guns from the beginning and we believe genuinely wants this

problem to be solved.

Our neighborhood business community generates as much revenue as

does downtown. They have many parking lots.

We need and deserve what they have. This is not about “us vs.

them.” It’s about equal consideration. The Chamber of Commerce has

turned a blind eye to our pleas for help early on, and over and over

again its leaders said they only are concerned with the “downtown.”

Well guess what folks? We are part of the downtown -- we are all

Laguna. Just try taking away the Village Flatlanders neighborhood

from the map and see what’s left.

RIK LAWRENCE

Laguna Beach

Doubts aplenty on Athens

In response to her letter, let me start out by saying that what

Councilwoman Toni Iseman missed in interest percentage points she

made up for in timeliness in her dissemination of information to the

public (“Councilwoman would like to clarify points,” Jan. 14).

Could you be a little more ambiguous when you discuss having spent

$9 million of our money on your “good design.” One can’t help but

notice those pink geraniums in the flowerbed sitting on top of the

public parking structure when driving by. Native foliage would have

looked a lot nicer, cost a fraction of what was probably spent and

wouldn’t require the massive amounts of carcinogens currently used to

bolster some life into them.

But John Mansour, of the Athens Group, we’ve gotten a taste of

your sensitivity to the community with the parking and traffic issues

you refuse to address. I can’t help but notice the sensitivity you

show to the marine wildlife by leaving those lights cast onto the

water all night. It’s akin to the “Land of the Midnight Sun” in

Alaska when people suffer from sleep deprivation and are periodically

found ambling around dazed, confused and disoriented. We are also

watching the sensitivity you’ve shown to the good residents of

Beverly Hills. Who have been forced to go to court to obtain public

documents and harassed legitimate signature signers on public

streets. You lack the basic tenets of open government.

JEANETTE POOL

South Laguna