Historic Preservation Ordinance
Fanatic Preservationists Are Hurting Laguna Families
By Daniel Rosenthal Historic preservation efforts by the Laguna Beach Historic Preservation Coalition, a close affiliate of Village Laguna, and ardent preservationist Cathy Jurca go too far when they start to ruin the lives of families who are just trying to do the right thing. In addition to suing the City in their attempt to…
Read MoreMy South Laguna cottage: How I regained my property rights
My house was built around 1930 by my family. It was fondly called the barn, because it really was. Not much was ever done on the interior. It was a single-wall construction summer cottage. No indoor shower, no phone, sub wood floors, no heater, no interior doors except for the bathrooms. Over the years, the…
Read MoreCity Council Passes Voluntary Historic Preservation Ordinance
Congratulations to you all for the huge step toward freeing your homes from the burdens of involuntary historic designations and accompanying restrictions. Without our steady voices and support in over 30 public hearings conducted since 2016, this could have gone a different way. But we hung in, and the City Council passed the ordinance at…
Read MoreAugust 11, 2020 City Council Meeting for Second Reading of Historic Ordinance
On August 11, 2020 at 5:00 PM, the City Council will have the second reading of the proposed Historic Preservation Ordinance. We expect it will pass that night, but those opposing the voluntary and incentive based ordinance are still fighting. One person has threatened a law suit. Please Email the city council and voice your…
Read MoreCity Council Approves Voluntary Historic Preservation Ordinance
Congratulations!!!! Your participation, steadfast efforts, and team spirit collectively has made adifference. If you are not aware the City Council approved the CEQANegative Declaration and the Historic Preservation Ordinance, with minormodifications, moving it to a “second reading”. The Council will likelyadopt the proposed ordinance at the next Council meeting. We salute youand thank you for hanging…
Read MoreJuly 14th, 2020 City Council Meeting for Approval of Historic Ordinance
The long awaited Historic Preservation Ordinance will be heard by the City Council on Tuesday, July 14, 2020 at 5PM. PLEASE mark this date on your calendars now and plan to participate in the hearing. You may participate by Zoom or by telephone. This was the reason we formed Let Laguna Live! Please help us push this important…
Read MoreHistoric Preservation Ordinance: Council clarifies City’s position on CEQA requirements
The City Council on Saturday took the legal position that the California Environmental Quality Act does not require the city to evaluate projects during a design review to determine if the structure is a local historic resource. Requirements for the local historic resource designation on projects are up to the lead agency, in this case…
Read MoreHistoric Preservation Ordinance hearing moved again
By BARBARA DIAMOND The Historic Preservation Ordinance hearing has been moved again, this time to 1 p.m., Saturday, Sept 29, to avoid conflict with Yom Kippur. City Manager John Pietig was directed at Tuesday’s council meeting to find a date with no conflicts between Sept 18 and Oct 30. “The conflict was brought to our…
Read MoreResponse to CEQA Article
The following letter is in response to an article published by Stu News on July 31, 2018. Dear Barbara, Thank you for covering the historic preservation issue. I wanted to make a couple of clarifications in the article. “Historic resource” is a defined term in CEQA. In a nutshell, lead agencies (like the City) are required…
Read MoreHistorical Preservation Ordinance Task force Interrupted
After many long meetings regarding the Historical Preservation Ordinance, the City Council voted in favor of forming a Task Force of residents to study and ultimately, make recommendations back to them for action. Council members Steve Dicterow and Toni Iseman volunteered to act as facilitators for the Task force and subsequently interviewed and appointed eleven…
Read MoreLetters to City Council
The letters below were sent to help convince the Laguna Beach City Council that the City is not required to have a mandatory ordinance and residents overwhelmingly support voluntary historic preservation. Learn more about the Special City Council Meeting here. Property Rights, YES. Freedom to Choose, YES. Freedom to opt on or opt…
Read MoreCity has Full Discretion on Historical Preservation Ordinance
Please attend the July 31 special council meeting to voice support of a new Historical Preservation Program (HPP) that is based on voluntary participation and private initiative. This meeting will focus on the discretion the City has under state laws to implement a new ordinance. These facts show that the City has maximum discretion: 1.…
Read MoreSpecial City Council Meeting September 29th 2018
At a special meeting on September 29, 2018, The Laguna Beach City Council supported the freedom of choice by empowering the Historic Preservation Task Force to write a voluntary historic preservation ordinance. For a long time you showed up, spoke up, wrote letters, made calls, talked to friends and neighbors, and generously donated to and…
Read MoreGroup Rallies to Support Voluntary Historic Preservation
Local residents attended a Let Laguna Live! information session about voluntary, incentive-based historic preservation policies last Friday, June 15. The grassroots group of local property owners seek a historic preservation ordinance that requires the city to obtain the consent of the owners before placing their homes on a historic preservation list. Established in 2017, Let…
Read MoreLocals gather at Let Laguna Live! rally on Friday
On Friday afternoon, June 15, local residents gathered together at 410 Broadway Street to enjoy tacos and refreshments at a rally and information session to support voluntary, incentive-based historic preservation. The gathering was sponsored by Let Laguna Live! and proceeds from the event will be used to support the group’s ongoing educational efforts. Photo by…
Read MoreHistoric Preservation Task Force Letters to City Council
We are asking for our collective voices to be heard now when appointing the new Historic Preservation Task Force committee. To have the new Task Force made up of any past or present Laguna Beach City Council members or city staff, Design Review Board members, Heritage Committee and Planning Commission members would be to set…
Read MoreHistoric Ordinance Preservation Task Force Applications
At the January 23, 2018 City Council meeting (video found here) the council voted to form a Historic Preservation Ordinance Task Force which will attempt to reach consensus on the Historic Preservation Ordinance and provide recommendations back to the City Council. The task force will consist of nine members of the public selected by City Council…
Read MoreLegal Reasons Why a Mandatory Plan is Not Required
VIA ELECTRONIC AND FIRST CLASS MAIL Kelly Boyd, Mayor Rob Zur Schmiede, Mayor Pro Tem Steve Dicterow, Councilmember Toni Iseman, Councilmember Bob Whalen, Councilmember Re: Historic Preservation Ordinance Dear Mayor Boyd and Council Members: Recent discussions of the revisions to the Historic Preservation Ordinance have generated much discussion of General Plan and CEQA mandates. Some…
Read MoreSuccessful Historic Preservation Workshop
Congratulations to the Staff, Council, and Public for their participation in a successful Historic Workshop held Saturday, December 16th. It was truly the first meeting on this issue where I felt the interests of all concerned were heard and addressed. The upshot of the meeting was an agreement by the Council to form a Task…
Read MoreHardships for Homeowners Under Proposed Preservation Rules
A new involuntary historic preservation ordinance would create for us a financial disaster. After a lifetime of voluntarily preserving a 1927 cottage, an involuntary ordinance would create a markdown of at least at $1 million. This is in terms of property value for resale and does not include the additional and impossible burden of trying…
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