Saving Laguna’s treasures

Dennis Piszkiewicz

The people of Laguna Beach justifiably take pride in their beaches

and parks, their greenbelt and open spaces; but our city has not yet

finished the job of saving its beautiful places. A project critiqued

by the Design Review Board on May 1 is a reminder that there are

still pieces of undeveloped land of great environmental value within

our city that we may lose because we take them for granted.

The project under review was the proposed house on the inland side

of Glenneyre Street where it crosses lower Bluebird Canyon. Seven

neighbors -- I was one of them -- spoke against the project. Though

we raised several concerns, the one most often mentioned was the

negative effect of this project on the environment. If built, the

house would rise on stilts above the flood plain, encroach into

undeveloped open space, and obliterate the view up the canyon that

many treasure.

The Design Review Board apparently agreed. By a vote of 4 to 0, it

rejected the plan. The owner has 10 days to appeal to the City

Council, which seems likely.

The most dramatic moment of the hearing came not with the vote,

but when board member Suzanne Morrison challenged those who opposed

this and other projects that threatened sensitive sites to get ahead

of the issue. If we want to protect our green spaces and our views,

she said, we should not wait for destructive projects to appear

before the design board and deal with them one by one. We should

organize on an ad hoc basis to identify parcels that, if developed,

would damage or destroy natural resources and result in loss forever

of treasured views and open space. We could then advocate for their

purchase, preservation and restoration.

She made a good point, and a good place to start is lower Bluebird

Canyon. Most people who do not live next to it do not know that there

are about a dozen acres of undeveloped land between Glenneyre Street

and Bluebird Park, with Bluebird Creek at its bottom flowing year

round. Its banks and the surrounding flood plain are overgrown by

nonnative species, but the animals are still there: deer, skunks,

raccoons, opossums, hawks, barn owls, turkey vultures and all kinds

of resident and migratory birds.

Some of this land is owned by the city; much of it is in private

hands. The city should acquire those parcels it does not already own,

starting with the lot adjacent to Glenneyre Street that is a proposed

construction site. The city has purchased land for open space before,

and it has a fund for the purchase of more. If the land can be

acquired by the city, it can be restored to something near its native

state. We can remove the nonnative vegetation and clean up the

wetlands.

Our City Council has taken a first step in the direction of

wetland restoration. On Feb. 4 it approved a $12,000 contract to

study restoration of wetlands as a means of purifying runoff water in

Laguna Canyon and Bluebird Canyon. The state and federal governments

have funds available for wetlands restoration; and in Laguna and

Bluebird Canyons, we have two great projects begging for funding.

While we’re planning the rescue of Bluebird Canyon, let’s not

forget the rest of Laguna Beach. Tucked in our hillsides and behind

our hedges there are chunks of beautiful, wild land we take for

granted. Lets preserve these precious places now so we don’t find

ourselves in a panic to save them later. It won’t be much consolation

to know that our city is surrounded by the beach and the greenbelt,

if everything within them is covered with asphalt pavement and stucco

boxes.

* DENNIS PISZKIEWICZ is a writer and resident of Laguna Beach. His

book, “The Evolution of Terror: America’s War with Terrorism,

1958-2001” will be published in July.