City votes to reduce own water waste
In response to residential complaints and a statewide drought, Laguna Beach council members voted 4 to 0 on Tuesday to stop watering a grass median along a one-mile stretch of Laguna Canyon Road.
Exactly when the sprinklers will be shut off is uncertain because the city must apply for a grant from the Metropolitan Water District of Orange County, according to Public Works Director Steve May.
“If we turn off the water, we would save a million gallons a year,” May said. The amount is roughly comparable to the average annual water usage by 10 Laguna Beach households that have gardens and lawns.
A plan to replace the 35,000 square feet of turf with wood mulch could cost as much as $145,000, May said, but would save the city about $10,000 annually in water costs.
The city is applying for a Metropolitan Water District of Orange County rebate to cover the costs, City Manager John Pietig said.
“If we don’t get a substantial grant, we’ll come back to [council],” Pietig said. The city has enough money in its village entrance beautification fund to pay for turf removal if a rebate is not obtained, according to staff reports.
Residents have recently complained about the sprinklers shooting water onto the road, Councilwoman Toni Iseman said, pointing out the irony of a city enforcing water restrictions without abiding by them itself.
Laguna Beach passed a series of measures last summer in response to the drought. Among them is an ordinance barring homeowners from allowing runoff onto pavement.
Council members also moved forward with a 48-parcel utility undergrounding assessment district near Ruby and Catalina streets.
Four property owners challenged the city on their proposed property tax assessments, successfully lowering them a total of about $14,000.
City officials assess charges to homeowners based on the increased value of their homes following the removal of overhead power lines.
Assessments in the district run between $940 and $4,100 annually per property during a 15-year period based on a 7% interest rate. If bonds sell near the current municipal rate of less than 4%, however, annual payments would be less, Pietig said.
The city overestimated the value of the view for those four homes, May said. Residents in the proposed district can continue to contest their assessments until Dec. 16, when the project receives final approval pending a majority vote from property owners.
“This has been a long journey,” said resident Kristi Grooms. “Once these poles are down and wires are buried, we’re not going to have to worry about seeing some sparks coming from these transformers.… We’re very grateful and I’m very optimistic about this.”
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K9 Unit
For the first time in nearly a decade, the Laguna Beach Police Department is equipped with a trained K9 unit.
Officers on Tuesday introduced the public to Ranger, a lean 2-year-old Belgian Malinois named in honor of slain Laguna Beach Police Officer Jon Coutchie, who served a tour of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan as an Army Ranger. Coutchie died in the line of duty last September when his motorcycle collided with a pickup truck.
Ranger will be deployed to detect narcotics, track missing people and catch felons, said Lt. Jeff Calvert, who oversees the K9 unit.
The department had no way to fund the purchase of the dog until the Laguna Beach Women’s Club stepped in.
The club raised about $20,000. The department spent half purchasing Ranger from Adlerhorst International, a Riverside-based Police K9 academy. The rest is covering a six-week training program at Adlerhorst that Ranger began Nov. 10, Laguna Beach Capt. Darin Lenyi said.
“There was just no funding for another dog when the last one retired about 10 years ago,” Lenyi said.
Ranger’s partner, Officer Zach Fillers, has dreamed of being a K9 handler since he was a little boy, Calvert said.
“He has worked very hard and is proud to stand next to his new four-legged friend,” Calvert said.
The two will primarily work evenings, Calvert said, but will be seen around town during the day as they introduce themselves to the community.
Ranger will live at home with Fillers and his wife.
[For the record, Nov. 21, 10:18 a.m.: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said the median sprinklers were shut off Wednesday. The date sprinklers will be shut off is uncertain because the city must apply for a grant from the Metropolitan Water District of Orange County.]