Council candidates discuss cultural arts center, nude art

Don’t be surprised to see more nudity in public art around Laguna Beach one day.

All seven candidates for the City Council said they would be OK with “au naturel” depictions of the human body during a Saturday forum held by Laguna Beach Alliance for the Arts Saturday at the Laguna Playhouse.

Candidates also discussed whether Laguna Beach should have a cultural arts center and what role the city should play in boosting its reputation as an artists’ colony.

Festival of Arts board member and former Laguna Beach Mayor Wayne Baglin moderated the forum, which featured questions developed by alliance members.

Incumbent City Council members Kelly Boyd and Toni Iseman, along with challengers Robert Zur Schmiede, Jon Madison, Michele Hall, Paul Merritt and Eli Grossman, are vying for three open seats on the five-member council.

Boyd, a fourth-generation Laguna resident and former owner of the Marine Room Tavern, said, “I have no problem with [nudity in public art]. If people need a model, call me.”

Zur Schmiede, a planning commissioner, said spotlighting the human body in art is a no-brainer.

“The human body is part of artistic heritage,” he said. “When it comes to public art, we need to take more risks and push the envelope.”

There appeared to be unanimity that a city known for its commitment to the arts should do even more.

“It should be government’s duty to support the arts,” Grossman said. “Art enhances people’s lives.”

Hall, a yoga instructor and former leader of the Laguna Beach Republicans, wants more year-round offerings.

“There needs to be a venue with 2,000 to 3,000 seats and include year-round displays, something more permanent,” Hall said.

Laguna Beach boasts year-round galleries and several organizations and productions, including First Thursdays Art Walk, Laguna Dance Festival and Laguna Beach Chorale.

Merritt, a trust administrator, said Laguna has untapped potential, later clarifying in an email that Laguna could be to art what Cannes, France, is to film.

“My vision to put Laguna art on a world map is to turbo charge local artist sales and revenues,” Merritt said. “Laguna Beach could, through city sponsorship, have a multi-day [Internet] auction like Sotheby’s [an internationally-renowned broker of fine and decorative art, jewelry and real estate]. We need to use technology to sell and distribute the image of Laguna Beach, like Cannes does for its film festival.”

Madison, owner of Madison Square & Garden Cafe and chairman of the Heritage Committee, suggested the city underwrite one show a year at the Laguna Art Museum.

“The city has an obligation to not only promote, but encourage the arts in more ways,” Madison said before transitioning his response to a possible location for a cultural arts center. “Knock down the [two] tennis courts [adjacent to the Festival of Arts], build the center and put the tennis courts on top.”

Candidates were mixed on whether the city should create a cultural arts center.

Boyd suggested the South Coast Cinema at 162 S. Coast Hwy. as a potential spot for a cultural arts hub, while not discounting Madison’s tennis court idea.

“To me it makes sense because the Festival is there,” Boyd said. “I would have to look at the cost factor. Do we split cost [with the Festival]? I’d start with the theatre downtown, but the tennis courts would be the second spot.”

Iseman, who has participated in the comedic satire Lagunatics, liked Boyd’s idea of South Coast Cinema, but also suggested a county-owned plot that includes a parking lot across Coast Highway from Aliso Beach Park.

“I’ve told [City Manager John Pietig] that the area needs to be ours,” Iseman said. “There is an incredible building there [currently used by Verizon] and we would have the parking.”

Merritt expressed mixed feelings on a cultural arts center.

“We have to study it more and listen to what the community thinks,” Merritt said. “I don’t want something just to boost tourism.”

Zur Schmiede agreed that residents need to have the primary say in whether a cultural arts center is needed and where it would go.

“I think a facility like that should be in the Civic Arts District [an area that includes Art-A-Fair and Sawdust on the south side of Laguna Canyon Road and the Festival of Arts on the north side],” Zur Schmiede said. “The city would have a role in securing tax-exempt financing [to build a potential facility].”

With national or worldwide exposure come the likelihood of more traffic, and parking was again a hot issue.

Hall suggested that a lot near the 73 Toll Road could be used for parking and visitors could take a shuttle from there into downtown and the festivals.

“I’m a big proponent of peripheral parking,” Hall said.

Visitors could receive discounts for parking in remote lots, Grossman said, adding that he would like to see trolleys operate on electricity.

“It’s about economies of scale,” Grossman said. “This will encourage people to spend more money [in Laguna].”

Council hopefuls also discussed boosting parking at the Act V lot in Laguna Canyon.

Iseman wants to add a second deck to the Act V lot — across Laguna Canyon Road from small businesses and generally hidden from sight — and said the matter will be discussed at an upcoming council meeting.

“[Parking] is an 80-20 problem,” Iseman said. “Eight percent of the time things work, while 20% of the time [referring to the influx of summertime visitors] no one is able to fix it. I will say that the parking signs [installed at various locations throughout the city earlier this year to help motorists more easily locate spots] are amazing.”

With the Village Entrance project yet to reach the design phase, it’s unknown whether the city will lose or gain parking spaces once a landscaped pedestrian promenade is in place where the Forest/Laguna Canyon lot sits.

Madison suggested tapping into technology as a way to limit the number of drivers circling in search of parking spaces.

“Use GPS to identify, on smart phones, where you can park,” Madison said. “And I mean downtown or in lots, not in front of people’s homes. I would hate to see parking taken away, but we need to move people through town.”