Housing criteria approved

The Affordable Housing and Human Affairs Committee will not get

another bite at the apple, and it was bitter pill for some to

swallow.

A council majority of two flatly refused Tuesday night to send

tenant criteria for the Glenneyre Street affordable housing project

back to the committee.

“I am speechless,” said Mayor Toni Iseman, who had requested the

criteria be sent back to the committee for review.

Criteria that gave preference to seniors had been added at the

Sept. 2 council meeting without notice to the committee or the

public.

Iseman, who voted for the inclusion of seniors at the meeting, had

second thoughts after hearing from committee members.

“Members of the committee have expressed their concern that the

nature of the housing may have inadvertently been changed

significantly without adequate input,” Iseman said.

The changes weren’t quite inadvertent.

“My position has been consistent, and I see no reason for another

meeting,” Councilman Steven Dicterow said Tuesday.

Councilwoman Elizabeth Pearson sided with Dicterow. Council

members Cheryl Kinsman and Wayne Baglin, who own nearby property, had

recused themselves.

Dicterow had proposed the addition of seniors to the preferred

tenant, adding two points for any applicant 65 or older to the

preference-point criteria recommended by Related Management Co., a

subsidiary of the developer. The council also added two preference

points for residents who are displaced from affordable housing by a

city-sponsored project such as the Montage Resort.

The original criteria included two points for applicants working

in the city, two points for applicants living in the city and one

point for applicants who had lived in the city in the past two years

but had moved out because of high rents.

Only seniors who meet the rest of the criteria could accumulate

the maximum eight points. All applicants must meet the income

requirements, which are based on a percentage of the median Orange

County income.

The late Alice Graves, who chaired the Affordable Housing and

Human Affairs Committee before she was stricken with cancer, lobbied

for housing for low-income workers in town.

More than a half-dozen members of the public, most if not all of

them seniors, supported Iseman’s proposal to send the criteria back

to committee.

“I beg you to reconsider how you assign points,” said Bonnie Hano,

who turned 77 on Sept. 12. “There is not enough senior housing, but

there are no units for what Alice called the working poor. Please,

please reconsider your decision.”

John Graves said he would like to have seen his late wife’s dream

become a reality.

“Alice, I know, would want very much to have the project for the

working poor,” Graves said.

Jean Raun said the Chamber of Commerce also supported the concept.

“It’s just sad, skewing it away from the original intent,” Ed Fry

said after the decision to take no action on Iseman’s request.

-- Barbara Diamond

City finds a few more parking spots

Lagunans may finally be tired of talking about parking in the

Diamond/Crestview area.

City Council and staff spent less than 15 minutes discussing an

agenda item on Tuesday dealing with on-street parking in the

Diamond/Crestview area, and the discussion involved no communication

from the public.

“That’s the shortest Diamond/Crestview hearing we’ve ever had,”

Councilwoman Cheryl Kinsman said of a topic that’s lurked about the

council chambers since 1997.

The combination of construction and narrow streets has left

parking in the area a major problem for years, and city staff

continues to look for solutions to come up with more spots. Director

of Public Works Steve May said staff has identified a few more spots

in addition to the 68 marked spots and 13 under construction before

the staff’s report must be submitted to the City Council on Nov. 4.

Councilman Wayne Baglin said he was concerned about the difference

in size from space to space. The recommendation passed by City

Council added that spaces created in the Nov. 4 report to be

submitted by staff must be uniform and that the process directly

involve council members. Baglin and Kinsman will participate in the

process.

“Some spaces up there have been designed only for electric

vehicles that get illegal parking permits,” Baglin said. “We’re not

consistent in size, allowing some spots that are unsafe for the

area.”

-- Mike Swanson

Council delays playhouse lease

The City Council voted Tuesday to delay a lease extension with the

Laguna Playhouse until the city-owned property is mapped.

“I support moving forward on the lease, but I want a pictorial of

the boundaries before voting on it,” said Councilman Steven Dicterow,

who pulled the lease from the consent calendar.

City Manager Ken Frank had recommended approval of the lease, with

the condition that the pictorial of the boundaries be included in the

final document.

“We just want to have all the I’s dotted and the T’s crossed,”

Councilwoman Elizabeth Pearson said.

Playhouse Executive Director Richard Stein said the playhouse does

not have a plot map in the files.

“I am disappointed that the [lease extension] was pulled for one

document,” Stein said. “There is no dispute over the legal

description. My preference would be not to delay.”

Key provisions of the lease are: The playhouse is obligated to

bear the cost of operating, maintaining and insuring the property.

The playhouse is also responsible for a $5-million liability

insurance policy.

The parking lot adjacent to the playhouse, on which some city

officials would like to see a multistory parking structure built,

will continue to be used by the playhouse except during festival

season, when it is turned over to the neighboring Festival of Arts.

-- Barbara Diamond

It’s time to get the palettes ready

The 2003 Palette Competition has begun.

Artists are provided a prepared 4-foot-by-3-foot wooden palette on

which to paint original artwork. The completed palettes are displayed

on lampposts throughout the city during the holiday season.

Entries will be accepted by Laguna Beach residents, artists with a

studio in Laguna Beach or showing in a Laguna Beach gallery, students

of Laguna Beach schools or the Laguna Beach College of Art and Design

or artists exhibiting in the Sawdust Festival, Art-A-Fair or Festival

of Arts. Proof of residency or gallery, school or festival

affiliation will be required.

Applicants are asked to submit a palette design on 8

1/2-inch-by-11-inch paper, in color, within the border of a palette

outline. The design must have a horizontal orientation.

The deadline is 5 p.m. Oct. 10 and should be delivered to the

Community Services Department, 505 Forest Ave.

Massive cleanup day on tap for Saturday

Coastal Cleanup Day will be from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday.

Volunteers from across the state are set to participate in a

massive effort to maintain the shoreline.

The cleanup at Main Beach will be led by Roger von Butow of the

Clean Water Now! Coalition. He can be reached at rvonbutow@cleanwater

now.com; The cleanup at Aliso Beach will be led by Joanette Willert

and Dennis Yune. The other Laguna cleanup will be at the Laguna

Canyon Channel and led by Jim Meyer of Orange County Trails4All. He

can be reached at https://www.trails4all. org.

For more information, call (949) 923-2251 or visit https://www.

ocparks.com.

Election Fair meeting set

The League of Women Voters will be hosting a strategy session for

the planning of a 2004 Election Fair for Laguna Beach.

The goal is to bring together a broad spectrum of political and

community groups interested in exploring issues with candidates.

The meeting will be 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Wells Fargo Bank

Community Room, 260 Ocean Ave. For information, call (949) 494-9928.

Chamber hosts Business Expo

The Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce is hosting the ninth annual

Business and Community Expo at the Farmer’s Market and Lumber Yard

parking lot.

The event will take place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

Admission is free.

Visitors can enjoy the Farmer’s Market and more than 60 booths

showcasing products and services offered by businesses in the

community. The fun will include free massages and giveaways.

‘Save the Canyon’ history showcased

The Laguna Beach Historical Society invites the public to hear

Mark Chamberlain and Jerry Burchfield on Friday, Sept. 26.

The Laguna Beach Historical Society will hold the “History of Save

Laguna Canyon” by Chamberlain and Burchfield, who have been involved

with the canyon environment for more than 20 years.

The artists used photographs to share their concerns about Laguna

Canyon. Their projects include “The Tell” and “Save the Canyon.”

The event will start at 7:30 p.m. in the the City Council

chambers, 505 Forest Ave. There is no charge to attend the talk.

Coastal Trail group heading to town

The Coastal Trail Expedition will be coming through town this

week.

The group has been heading for the Mexican border from the Oregon

state line since June 3. People have walked 1,044 miles all in an

effort to build public support for the completion of the state’s

Coastal Trail.

The group expects to reach the Laguna Beach border on Monday.

Orange County hikers able to walk 12 miles per day are invited to

join the expedition for a day.

For more information, call (800) 550-6854 or (707) 829-6689.

To follow the group’s progress visit www.californiac

oastaltrail.info.

Events for Crystal Cove

The Alliance to Rescue Crystal Cove will host a tropical gala and

plein air art and environmental fair to benefit the Crystal Cove

State Park Historic District.

The event is a two-day fund-raiser Saturday and Sunday featuring

plein air paintings of Crystal Cove.

From 4 to 9 p.m. Saturday, there will be a tropical dinner at the

beach, an art exhibit and sale of plein air paintings, a silent

auction and the presentation of awards. The cost to attend is $125.

From 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, there will be an exhibit showcasing

work by more than 50 local artists, displays from 15 area

environmental groups, entertainment and raffle prizes. Admission is

free, and food will be available for purchase.

For information, call (949) 640-5220 or visit

https://www.crystalcove.net.