New village entrance in view

Cindy Frazier

The California Coastal Commission moved swiftly Tuesday to approve a

scaled-down city maintenance facility proposed for the Act V remote

parking lot at 1900 Laguna Canyon Road.

The commission voted unanimously, with little comment, to approve

the proposal, which will free up space in the city corporation yard

downtown -- an area that is earmarked for a future village entrance

project.

“It took the commission less time to make the decision than it

took to read the staff report,” said Councilwoman Cheryl Kinsman.

Kinsman, Mayor Elizabeth Pearson-Schneider, City Manager Ken Frank

and Assistant City Manager John Pietig represented the city at the

meeting. Laguna Canyon Conservancy President Carolyn Wood also

attended.

“This was the ultimate peace accord,” said Councilwoman Toni

Iseman, who sits on the coastal commission and collaborated with

Pearson-Schneider on a compromise plan that was submitted.

“I wanted to go up and hug Toni after the vote,” Pearson-Schneider

said. “This is a red-letter day for us.”

With the approval of the facility, the council can now focus on

planning for the village entrance, which would include 190 new public

parking spaces carved out of the existing corporate yard and city

employee parking area where Laguna Canyon Road meets Forest Avenue.

Tuesday night, the council approved contracts for planning the

village entrance -- expected to take six years to complete. It should

open in 2011.

The corporate yard project is located on land owned by the city in

unincorporated Orange County, adjacent to city limits. The lot has

been used for 25 years as auxiliary parking for the Sawdust Festival

and other summer events, with free shuttle service to and from the

festival site and downtown.

The approved project consists of a two-story, 20,610-square-foot

building for maintenance, storage, offices, and vehicle refueling and

washing. There will also be a 264-space parking area, of which at

least 207 spots must be available for the public during weekday hours

and 249 available to the public on evenings and weekends.

In addition, the existing entry point will be relocated, and a

right-turn lane installed.

The project was scaled down from a previous plan that called for

two one-story buildings; the new plan significantly increases the

number of public parking spaces.

The project has a convoluted history. It was approved by the

county in an earlier version in 1998, without coastal commission

review, whereupon the city began some work on the site.

The permit expired before the work was completed.

After coastal permits were issued by the county and city, Iseman

and fellow commissioner Sara Wan appealed the project to the coastal

commission, seeking to have the project reduced in scope.

The appeal was originally scheduled to be heard last July. City

officials held public workshops in the interim to fashion a revised

plan that Iseman and others on the council could agree on.

On the village entrance, the council voted 4-0, with Mayor Pro Tem

Steven Dicterow absent, to include a total of $170,000 in the budget

for the next fiscal year.

Funding will include a contract not to exceed $42,325 with Studio

One Eleven for revisions to the village entrance design; $100,000 for

an environmental impact report and water quality management plan, and

$25,000 for other unspecified plans or studies that might be

required.

No contracts will be awarded until the money is available, city

officials said.

-- Barbara Diamond contributed to this story.