Don’t tread on Laguna’s charming openness

CATHARINE COOPER

I wonder if Laguna can be loved too much?

I say that, of course, with tongue in cheek. Our seaside village

has a citizenry devoted to its waters, its open space, its heritage,

its art, and its charm. We have council members,

commissions/committees and staff dedicated to maintaining and

improving the quality of our lives. We have the Surfriders, the

greenbelt, the conservancy, the village, and the chamber -- all

focused on preserving the unique character that makes our city a

shimmering jewel.

In my travels, it is rare to spend a day without someone making

comment on the distinctive qualities of Laguna. The recent Charm

House Tour, sponsored by Village Laguna, provided a revisitation of

the historical roots that set the framework for our current city. To

paraphrase from their writings, Laguna, south of the canyon, was

never part of the original Spanish or Mexican land grants, and so

large landholders never owned the property. In 1848, when the United

States bought Alta California, Laguna became eligible for

homesteading. This led to a kind of “anything goes” architecture,

with streets at odd angles, and neighborhoods that didn’t look much

like one another.

It was to this kind of helter-skelter meandering street layout

that my family moved here in the late fifties. My father bought a

vintage Cape Cod farm house built around the turn of the century by a

gentleman from Connecticut. It was a whopping 4,000 square feet (yes,

there were large houses back then) on several acres. On the corner

below the house was a stark contemporary built by Bonzo Ziernedan.

Even as a child, I adored the eclectic nature of our neighborhood and

relished the contrast between our two homes.

I was admonished by several and supported by many when in 2000 I

sought Design Review approval to remodel a 1932 cottage. The plan was

to strip it to its roots and replace its lines with a stunning

contemporary by architect Walter Metez. I called it “the cottage for

2050.” The design review process was difficult.The original house had

been built as a weekend retreat by a Hollywood maven. Subsequent

owners had added bits and pieces to stretch out the clapboard, but in

the end, the wood had rotted, the foundation was inadequate and the

structure had outlived its usefulness. My detractors would have

forced me to keep the original architecture while shoring up the

footings, fattening out the walls and updating plumbing, electrical

and fixtures. At one of the DRB hearings, I asked if I must also

drive a car built in 1932, wear clothing from the period, and hang my

laundry on a line ...

While I support wholeheartedly the regulation of lot coverage and

view protection, this is to insure that we are not overcrowded and

closed off to vistas of our canyons and the sea. It is by our choices

that we express our tastes and preferences. Our homes -- for most of

us our greatest asset -- are also the greatest opportunity to

communicate our individual style.

The gift of not living in a planned community is just that -- it’s

not planned. This means that there are colors that are not those I

would place on my own palette. But freedom of expression is one of

the greatest gifts we have given to one another.

We live in a colony grown on its art and artists. Can you imagine

if our artists were allowed to exhibit only plein-air paintings? Even

the press of weekend traffic and the crowded summer beaches do not

diminish my joy for living in Laguna. I am grateful to all those who

devote countless hours to insure that our ridgelines remain

undeveloped, that our beaches remain open, we have places to park,

and that somehow, with the press of development all around us, we are

able to maintain our village atmosphere.

Yes, you can love Laguna -- but never too much!

* CATHARINE COOPER can be reached at (949) 497-5081 or

[email protected].