MAILBAG: Cove cottages a disappointment

In reference to Crystal Cove’s old cottages coming back to life, for a young couple looking to enjoy one of those cottages on the first Valentine Day of their marriage, I say, PHOOEY.

They arrived very excited to be returning to an era of long ago. The person in charge gave them a key and set them on the way.

This proved to be a long and out-of-the-way walk past the visible, charming cottages that they assumed would be theirs.

Instead, the key unlocked a room similar to a dormitory with walls so thin the next door neighbors were easily heard.

The accommodations were very sparse, and they left with huge disappointment and returned home.

The next morning they came to the Beachcomber for breakfast and found breakfast was not included in their two-night reservation.

This may be the State’s way of doing things, but it’s still very bad PR for the beautiful old place.

Our granddaughter, the young bride in question, has heard of Crystal Cove from her mother and her grandparents since childhood.

I can imagine what tourists must think when this sort of deception is deployed, but being California natives doesn’t help a bit.

NANCY TARZIAN

Laguna Beach

Mixed-use better for Village Entrance

In “Village Entrance Paused” (April 18), Barbara Diamond says “other options [will be] studied” as alternatives to a $57 million Village Entrance structure. As a pure parking structure, it would only make economic sense in July and August and lose money during the other months.

At several City Council meetings, I have suggested a mixed-use structure is the better solution for Laguna. It would feature retail, galleries and perhaps artist live/work spaces encasing the parking core. The prototype is Del Mar Plaza in Del Mar.

A developer would build it at no cost to the city, if given a long enough lease on the land, and would split operating revenues with the city. When president of the Chamber of Commerce, I found several developers interested in such a venture.

A private developer, assuming proactive support by the city bureaucracy, could finish the structure years before a cash-strapped city government could.

Instead of being a cash drain, it would be a cash cow for city coffers from its share of parking and rental revenues, plus the city’s share of additional retail sales taxes.

It would allow Laguna to attract businesses and restaurants to downtown that cannot now justify moving here. It is businesses and restaurants that make a fun, vibrant downtown, not buildings with “the Village Character.” A rational Downtown Specific Plan can be crafted to require that new and replacement buildings have charm and character, more so than the current buildings.

Completed in two years, Del Mar Plaza has 380 parking spaces underneath an interesting collection of restaurants and shops, blending into a hillside much like the Laguna site, albeit smaller. I challenge the Laguna Beach City Council to visit it to see how such a project works, and to abandon an unworkable Village Entrance project in favor of this option that is win-win-win for the city, its residents, and its business community.

TOM AHERN

Newport Beach

[Tom Ahern is owner of Latitude 33 Bookshop.]

?

Local height limits under serious threat

Laguna Beach voters approved a height limit ordinance 37 years ago that limits the size of buildings. This ordinance has worked relatively well in protecting our village character, preserving our historic buildings and reducing overcrowding and intensity of use. It has prevented Laguna from becoming full of high-rise buildings such as hotel and condominium towers.

While this ordinance is not perfect, it does force developers to seek neighborhood, Planning Commission and City Council approval for any project that would require a variance from the ordinances’ requirements.

This ordinance is now under a serious threat! A group of developers and architects are trying to convince our Planning Commission and City Council to approve a number of changes to this ordinance that would allow commercial buildings to significantly exceed existing limits for bulk and intensity of use.

I understand some of the changes are how a building’s height is measured, not considering a parking garage a story in zones that limit the number of stories a building can have, and allowing any construction to be constructed from lot line to lot line.

These changes would not only facilitate the building of more mini-malls and more resorts but will increase the automobile traffic to our neighborhoods by encouraging greater intensity of use by all commercial buildings. The changes will impact not only our downtown but also North Laguna, the “flatland,” South Laguna and Laguna Canyon. If we do not stop this now, who knows what the next proposal might be.

There is no overriding public need to change this ordinance! Please consider an e-mail, a phone call or a letter to our council members letting them know what you think. Let’s protect and preserve our Laguna Beach Village atmosphere by protecting our heights limits ordinance. It is up to each of us!

AL BAEZ

Laguna Beach