Village Entrance gathers steam

A redesign of the Laguna Canyon Road median and the removal of a carport behind City Hall will be part of the Village Entrance Project after the City Council decided Tuesday night to move ahead with the beautification enterprise.

The council also voted for renovating the exterior of the historic sewer digester building and leaving the Laguna Canyon Creek flood channel uncovered as part of a slate of recommendations for the project, which will include a landscaped promenade in the area of the Forest/Laguna Canyon Road parking lot.

The council voted 5 to 0 on all aspects except the removal of the carport. On that item, Councilwoman Toni Iseman dissented. She said she likes the appearance and shade provided by the morning glory-covered structure, which is used by city employees.

“It’s beautiful. I love it,” resident Tom Halliday said. “If it were up to me, I’d keep it.”

Mayor Pro Tem Bob Whalen offered a different perspective.

“I don’t think there’s any justification in retaining a decrepit, falling-down carport,” Whalen said.

Roger Torriero, chief executive and president of Griffin Structures Inc., which is consulting with the city, offered a possible solution, a “green screen.”

“A green screen looks like mesh, which is erected against a structure or posts,” Torriero explained. “The plants grow up and become a green wall.”

City staff will include the recommendations as it gathers proposals from design firms. Deputy City Manager Ben Siegel said the city has received inquiries from six companies.

During the meeting’s public comment portion, a group of Laguna residents presented an alternative Village Entrance design plan that includes separate bicycle and pedestrian pathways, additional trees and a pervious surface at the Forest/Laguna Canyon asphalt lot, across from the Festival of Arts.

“The point is making that part of the lot look like open space when it doesn’t have cars on it,” resident and former Planning Commissioner Barbara Metzger said.

According to the alternative plan, the Forest/Laguna Canyon lot would only be used for parking when the main lot — to the east of the flood channel where city employees currently park — is full, said Ruben Flores, owner of Laguna Nursery, who helped prepare the alternate plan.

When the area is not used for parking, the space could host art shows, Flores said.

“As people drive in, they will see a beautiful new facade at the Festival of the Arts, see a new planted area, and won’t see cars for most of the year,” Flores said.

The bike path would also be placed to the east of the channel, allowing for separation from pedestrians.

Resident Karen Schwager said she liked the alternative design, which the council did not vote on.

“I’m excited by the bike lane pushed close to the hillside,” Schwager said. “It takes bikes away from a dangerous area (along Laguna Canyon Road).”

Parking was again a hot topic during council discussion, as is often the case when talking about land use in Laguna.

Councilman Kelly Boyd disagreed with the alternative plan proponents’ claim that 16 parking spaces would be lost if the Forest/Laguna Canyon lot was landscaped with pervious surface and trees.

“You keep saying, ‘They’re not going to use that parking area,’” Boyd said. “That lot is full every day in the winter. I think you’re wrong on only losing 16 spaces.”

Except for 2 1/2 months in the summer, 122 spaces are free to the public in the Forest/Laguna Canyon lot, Siegel said.

Sixty-five to 70 additional free spaces are available for the first time at a city-owned, 3.8-acre parcel just north of the Forest/Laguna Canyon lot, Siegel added.

The city hopes to recommend a design team to the council by December.