New-look Village Entrance

Barbara Diamond

City Manager Ken Frank is optimistic that Laguna Beach will see a new

park and parking facility at the Village Entrance, and other

improvements are moving forward as residents agree to compromise on

issues.

Construction of the estimated $10-million project is not expected

to begin for three or four years, Frank told attendees of Monday’s

Laguna Canyon Conservancy dinner meeting.

“The city is on a roll,” Frank said. “There seems to be a public

will to reach consensus.

“It appears there is consensus on the maintenance yard that I

didn’t think I’d ever live to see.

“And that opens the way for compromises on the Village Entrance.”

He projected an image of park and parking, which was applauded.

Before a parking garage is built on the site, the city must put in

a parallel sewer line from the maintenance yard to Aliso Creek to

replace the one that was designed so it can’t be examined for damage

or repairs.

Before construction begins, a study will be required, followed by

the environmental process, which takes about nine months in Laguna.

Finally, the council must decide what the project should look like

and how to pay for it.

Frank said the estimated cost of about $10 million could require a

bond.

MORE COMPROMISES

“I have a feeling there is a good probability that we have a

compromise on the Community/Senior Center and we should break ground

in September of 2006,” Frank told the audience.

Frank also was applauded when he said that a seawall to shore up

Heisler Park may not be needed. Environmentalists strongly oppose

seawalls because of the alteration to the natural wave action and

erosion process.

The Heisler Park renovation, which will include redone pathways

that have been “eaten away” by rodents, most likely will go to the

Design Review Board in April, with no major opposition on record,

Frank said.

MORE ON MONTAGE

Montage’s ability to park its employees on-site was questioned by

John Pfeffer.

As reported in the Feb. 4 edition of the Coastline Pilot, the

number of employees increased dramatically as Montage made an

aggressive bid for top rating in the resort industry.

“They could put more employee parking in the garage under the

hotel, but that would mean triple stacking, which would mean delays

in valet parking,” Frank said.

He added, “We believe they have to have 50 more spaces and that’s

what they have at least for two years [period of the conditional use

permit approved by the city for off-site employee parking].”

DOWNTOWN

Bonnie Hano asked if the exterior design for the community/senior

centers were to be revised.

“The original ones were just awful,” she said. “They didn’t look

like Laguna Beach at all.”

Frank said a revised plan was submitted, but it is still not

considered suitable for Laguna.

“They [designers] will come back in three or four months to the

Planning Commission, which acts as design review for the downtown,”

Frank said. Pedestrian safety on Third Street is an issue, but most

seniors won’t be walking to the center, Frank said.

He thinks perhaps a mid-block crossing will be the solution.

Other projects in the works: a couple of alleys still need

reconstruction and undergrounding of utilities was delayed when

utility companies sent all available staff to Florida after the

devastating hurricanes.

“By summer the poles will be down, the [new] lights will be up and

the alleys will be done,” Frank said.

GOOD NEWS -- BAD NEWS

The good news is that the city is unlikely to be swamped by a

tsunami. California has an early warning system that reports

earthquakes and resulting tsunamis. Frank said that even if the waves

come the damage would be minimal, due to the topography of the city’s

shore, which drops off dramatically and reduces the flow of the

waves.

The bad news is that little progress has been made in educating

inland cities to reduce pollution in Aliso Creek.

“Public education is proposed, but everybody is driving and unless

we bar cars, we will still have pollution,” Frank said.

Pollution could be reduced by the acquisition of hybrid vehicles.

The city already owns four, used by parking officers.

“We are moving in that direction,” Frank said.

ALISO VIEJO MAYOR MAKES A PITCH

Aliso Viejo Mayor Karl Waromski, possibly the only Green Party

member elected to office in Orange County, attended the conservancy

dinner.

He voiced concerns about Montage Resort and Spa plans for Aliso

Canyon and urged vigilance.

“I want to make sure that whatever project comes forth, it is for

the benefit of the surrounding communities with special consideration

for the open space,” Waromski said.