Get together and preserve Downtown

Ken Delino

Great downtowns, like ours in Laguna, need to be nurtured and

cared for, or they die. Everywhere you go these days you see

revitalized downtowns. Some cost millions of dollars. Other cities

unite government, residents and business to promote and manage their

downtowns to maintain character and prosperity. In Laguna, we need

only protect what we have.

Laguna’s Downtown is the envy of our neighboring cities, and its

unique diversity and vitality draws people from throughout the

region. Most importantly, residents like it! We may not shop there

enough, but we generally like our Downtown. The danger we face is

that the Downtown loses the resident compatible merchants and becomes

a vacuous entertainment district and gallery row where residents

rarely venture. The City Council and many community groups have

voiced their concern and support, and the Chamber of Commerce is

willing to take the lead to initiate programs common in other cities.

Some programs we might consider include:

A shop local program. Residents need to be informed and encouraged

to patronize their local businesses and services. Businesses need to

reach out to residents. Look for much more on this subject from the

chamber.

A parking management program. Laguna needs to balance the needs

for municipal revenue, beachgoers and shoppers. Our current metering

system requires vast amounts of quarters and allows little

flexibility for different seasons, time of day, commercial patterns,

long term shopping, etc. The chamber, at the urging of the City

Council, is investigating new parking machines, interviewing

merchants and shoppers and drawing up recommendations for more

flexible and user-friendly parking systems.

Traffic circulation plan. The current maze pits vehicles against

pedestrians and creates two major choke points at Coast Highway,

Broadway and Forest Avenue and Third Street. Residents in particular

avoid the mess. It is not rocket science to fix this.

Landlord outreach. No kidding. Downtown businesses, particularly

the resident-serving ones, are screaming about escalating rents. The

landlords need to be urged to be reasonable lest they kill their

gold-laying geese, and Laguna becomes a city of T-shirt and trinket

shops.

National brands. Yes, I know, no one wants chains, but guess where

people shop? Every good downtown needs a few anchor tenants to draw

the crowds that then patronize the smaller stores. The empty former

Sprouse-Reitz on Broadway is an embarrassment that no other

downtown-respecting city would tolerate.

An economic development office in City Hall. The visioning process

recommended it and nearly every other city has one to advocate for

business and recruit desirable businesses by offering incentives.

We should do likewise if we want resident-serving businesses.

Permit streamlining. This does not mean compromising standards. It

just means getting to where we’re going faster. Most other cities

fast track permits for desirable businesses.

Downtown Laguna Beach is our gem. We’re all going to have to pitch

in to preserve it. Look for your Chamber of Commerce to lead the way.

* Ken Delino is the president of the Laguna Beach Chamber of

Commerce