City buys hillside property in Laguna Canyon behind Sawdust Festival site
The city of Laguna Beach will acquire 12.8 acres of land in Laguna Canyon, which it intends to preserve as open space, according to a news release issued this week.
The property at 1199 Lewellyn Drive consists of two parcels located on a hillside behind the Sawdust Art & Craft Festival and just below Skyline Drive. The city will pay $1.3 million, plus any closing costs, for the land, the release said.
“These additional parcels are critical habitat for wildlife, and they fill a gap in our greenbelt,” Laguna Canyon Foundation executive director Hallie Jones said in the release.
As of last week it appeared the city would not buy the land. A staff report prepared for the July 25 City Council meeting indicated that the city and property owner Jae Song could not reach agreement on a price in light of additional work needed to stabilize a slope.
City Manager John Pietig told the council he was removing the item from the agenda because “some discussions have occurred recently that lead me to believe we should take some more time to work on this matter.”
“At the last minute, the property owner [Song], through their attorney [Neil Popowitz], was willing to make an adjustment,” Assistant City Manager Christa Johnson said Wednesday. Johnson added the property is in escrow.
As part of an agreement with the city, Song dropped a lawsuit he filed against the city in October 2015 regarding proposed reconstruction of a house that burned in a 1982 fire, according to documents filed with City Clerk Lisette Chel-Walker.
The estimated cost of the slope stabilization is between $800,000 and $1 million, the staff report said.
Twitter: @AldertonBryce
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