City can go ahead with canyon brush clearing for fire prevention

The California Coastal Commission denied a Laguna Beach resident’s appeal of a brush-clearing project aimed at buffering houses in Nyes and Oro canyons from potential fires.

Marc Wright appealed the Design Review Board’s May 7 approval of a coastal development permit for the 22-acre project.

According to a city staff report, the project will have crews clear non-native and dead or dying brush by hand in spaces extending 100 feet from the edge of residential zones near undeveloped, steep-sloped canyons. The goal is to thin vegetation in the area by 50%.

The area designated for the brush-clearing is home to about 1,500 residents, according to Laguna Beach Fire Department’s Fire Chief Jeff LaTendresse.

Wright’s appeal, dated July 6, alleges that the plan is “inconsistent with several sections of the city of Laguna Beach Local Coastal Program and related sections of the California Code,” such as those linked to residential hillside protection, zoning, trees and vegetation and public lands.

The appeal was officially denied during the California Coastal Commission meeting Aug. 13. Commissioners stated that the appeal “raised no substantial issue” and the project was “necessary for fire prevention.”

Wright did not attend the meeting and could not be reached for comment.

“I am in strong support of finding no substantial issue with this,” commissioner Mary Shallenberger said during the meeting. “I am so appreciative of [the city of Laguna Beach] choosing to go through the commission for this.”

According to LaTendresse, who attended the meeting along with Laguna Beach City Manager John Pietig and Mayor Pro Team Steve Dicterow, the city is prepared to begin work on the project in October. Members of the Laguna Canyon Foundation, an organization dedicated to preserving the city’s wilderness, and a certified biologist will be on-site during its development.