Top of the World resident gets Laguna’s OK to subdivide land
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A property owner in Laguna Beach’s Top of the World neighborhood will be allowed to subdivide a vacant residential lot, the City Council unanimously decided Tuesday night.
The council granted owner Jerry Sebag’s request to split the 24,624-square-foot property into two parcels, agreeing with the Planning Commission’s decision in October that the subdivision would conform to Laguna’s general plan.
The property had played a role in the city’s effort to upgrade a rather rudimentary trail connecting to a fire access road that leads into the Arch Beach Heights neighborhood. In addition to crossing county land, the trail traverses a portion of two pieces of private property, including Sebag’s, at 28901 Top of the World Drive.
Gene Gratz, Sebag’s attorney, told the Daily Pilot last week that his client’s request to subdivide the lot was in no way an attempt to trade on his permission to grant the city right of way, that it was clear from the owner’s purchase of the land years ago that a trail was going in.
Residents at October’s Planning Commission meeting said they were concerned that if Sebag was aiming to build houses, they would lose their views and be forced to deal with runoff, but no development plans were included with Sebag’s request.
“It’s like taking a little lot that is zoned for one house and building a skyscraper,” Vineer Bhansali said at Tuesday’s council meeting. “There is no infrastructure, no parking, and the road is very narrow.”
City Atty. Phil Kohn had a different interpretation.
“This is a fairly large lot, which allows it to be divided into two lots and still meet the minimum lot size requirements for that particular neighborhood,” Kohn told the council.
It took the city several years of planning and gaining necessary agreements to improve the trail, which suffered from deep crevices in some places and posed a danger.
In January 2015, the council approved adding decomposed granite and asphalt in certain portions with the condition that a 300-foot section of Top of the World Drive not be widened.
The city had wanted to widen the road by 4 feet to provide easier public access to the trail, but several residents opposed the idea, fearing that a broader road would invite more traffic.
Crews started the trail renovation in October.
Iseman appointed mayor
Before Tuesday’s meeting, swearing-in ceremonies were held for councilmen Steve Dicterow and Bob Whalen, City Clerk Lisette Chel-Walker and City Treasurer Laura Parisi, who all emerged victorious in November’s election.
Whalen and Dicterow, both incumbents, were the top two vote-getters, respectively, in a field that included Judie Mancuso and Verna Rollinger. Parisi earned the most votes in a field that included Anne McGraw, while Chel-Walker ran unopposed.
Council members unanimously appointed Toni Iseman to her fourth mayoral term and selected Kelly Boyd as mayor pro tem.
The Laguna Beach mayoral term is one year.
Twitter: @AldertonBryce
