City manager speaks at residents’ meeting

Barbara Diamond

City Manager Ken Frank was the guest speaker at the Laguna North

Community Assn. meeting held recently at Wells Fargo Bank -- but he

also listened.

LANO members questioned Frank about North Laguna issues such as

sidewalks, beach pollution and noise from low flying planes. The

questions came after Frank spoke off the cuff about North Laguna

projects completed, near completion or planned. They included the

last link of sidewalks on the inland side of North Coast Highway,

placing utility poles underground on High Drive, construction of a

storm drain between Louise Street and Emerald Bay and re-striping of

Hillcrest in front of Riddle Field to give more parking for Little

League.

Repaving the North Laguna alleys, Frank said, is about four years

out. It is a $500,000-to-$600,000 project.

But the city’s herd of goats is scheduled to head north next

month.

Fire prevention is a major concern in North Laguna, which is

abutted by open space that does not belong to the city and over which

the city has no control.

“The herd is now at [Top of the World],” Frank said. “In

mid-April, they will move to more expensive quarters in North Laguna

and probably be here for two months.”

“One problem is that it is difficult to figure out who owns what.

It used to be easy -- the Irvine Co. owned everything. Now some is

the company’s and some is county area. The Nature Conservancy manages

the area between Lookout and Allview Terrace.”

The conservancy doesn’t want to do any fuel modification during

the gnatcatcher season, Frank said. And they don’t want the goats on

their patch.

“But there should be a nice fuel break by mid-June,” Frank said.

“The goats will do the water district property,” he said. “It not

as pretty a job as the hand crews do, but it’s about one-fifth of the

cost.

“Technically, North Laguna area should be the county’s

responsibility, but it would never get done.”

Jackie Jacobson asked what the city was doing about pollution on

Crescent Bay Beach.

“Nuisance water diversions in storm drains filter into the sewer

system at the end of Myrtle and Asters streets,” Frank said.

“Crescent Bay has no diversion.”

State law prohibits run-off from private property irrigation or

hosing, which can get into the storm drains and contaminate beaches,

Frank said.

However, an unsettled claim is causing the roadblock in the

diversion program. The outstanding claim has also held up the

renovation of the stairs at Crescent Bay, Frank said.

“We had 55 claims from the 1997-98 storms and we have settled 54,”

Frank said. “We have been involved in litigation for six years with

the neighbor of the stairs.”

Congressman Christopher Cox is sponsoring a federal bill that

would pay half of the $1.2 million to build pump stations in North

Laguna, according to Frank.

The city also is turning to Cox for help in dealing with

low-flying commercial airliners.

“We have made zero progress with the FAA [Federal Aviation

Administration],” Frank. “It is my perception that when we call in

complaints, there are fewer low flights for a while, then it picks up

again.”

LANO is a non-political association of property owners and

residents in North Laguna. Visit website www.lagunanorth.org for more

information or to pass on information to the association.

“We keep on top of what’s going on to keep [members] informed and

we are interested in feedback from members,” Egly said.

New members will be welcomed.