Divided council denies new beauty supply shop

Mike Swanson

Ropage Beauty Supply’s former residence on Forest Avenue will not

house a similar, out-of-town-owned salon after a 2-2 vote by City

Council Tuesday denied the owner’s application for a city permit.

The City Council ruled May 6 that Stanley Sir of Laguna Niguel

needed a permit to open a store Downtown despite city staff’s

recommendation that Sir didn’t need it. The council ruled in a 2-1

vote that Sir needed the permit because his store didn’t carry the

exact product line as Ropage. The Planning Commission then denied

Sir’s application for the permit on May 28 because of his business’

similarity to other Downtown businesses.

Councilman Steve Dicterow, who was absent at the May 6 meeting,

opposed denying the appeal along with Councilman Wayne Baglin, but

the 2-2 vote deferred to staff’s recommendation to deny the appeal.

If the vote was 2-2 May 6, then Sir wouldn’t have needed a permit,

City Atty. Phil Kohn said.

“I’ve never felt this bad than for the last two or three months,”

Sir said. “I’ve never felt this unfairly treated. Whether it’s that

I’m an outsider or something else, I don’t know. Somebody needs to

make a point that everyone deserves to be treated fairly.”

Sir said he and the building owner plan to file multiple lawsuits

against the city and against individuals that Sir wouldn’t specify.

“They don’t allow me to run business to make money, so I’ll get

rich without business,” Sir said. “I will win, it’s just a matter of

how much. Spending money on principles is a good thing. It’s good for

my kids to see.”

Several Downtown business owners and residents who’d spoken at the

first City Council meeting and at the Planning Commission meeting

returned to stress sticking to the Downtown Specific Plan, which

discourages saturation of like businesses.

Community input against Sir’s Beauty and More store again

outweighed support, with Chamber of Commerce President Ken Delino and

Mark Christy, owner of multiple Downtown businesses, among Beauty and

More’s dissenters. Their points remained that they’re not against

Sir, but want Downtown building owners to think more about the

Downtown Specific Plan than maximizing their rents.

“My rents are some of the lowest on the street,” Christy said. “I

have no problem laying down a sacrifice bunt to benefit the team

instead of always swinging for the fences.”

Christy and others, including Mayor Toni Iseman, said they would

like to see building owners work harder to attract businesses that

aren’t already Downtown. Christy noted that a “For Lease” sign in the

window would be a good start to attract several interested businesses

that might be a “missing link” in the area.

“This space should be used more usefully Downtown,” Iseman said.

Baglin voted not based on how he felt Downtown should appear or

what ethics owners should follow, but based on following the rules

and Kohn’s initial recommendation.

“I challenge any of you to make an empirical finding rather than

one with subjective feelings,” Baglin said. “In following the rules,

this business should be able to move into 272 Forest Ave.”

Laguna Beach residents Robert Pompeo and Anita Chaitin spoke on

Sir’s behalf as bystanders waiting for the next agenda item.

“This is how they keep honest, hard-working people out of Laguna

Beach, and it happens all the time here.” Pompeo said. “This isn’t

about too many beauty supply stores. Who cares about how many beauty

supply stores there are here? They’ll never beat art galleries.

“I think the whole thing stinks.”