School district neglecting neighbors

Thomas and Mary Marshall

Yes, we are going to lose our ocean view due to a 30-foot fencing

that will be surrounding the Laguna Beach High School baseball field.

Other things have also affected us. They have been forgotten,

overlooked or not mentioned while the renovation and construction is

taking place at Laguna Beach High School.

There is the outside painting of the high school that the

surrounding residents were never alerted to, thus not given the

opportunity to protect their cars or belongings from the over spray.

Due to the over-spray, we have had to have both our vehicles detailed

to remove the paint and will still need additional detailing.

There are the large construction trucks and tractor-trailers

constantly up and down our streets with their loud engines, holding

up our traffic during a workday while they try to turn onto St. Ann’s

Drive and other surrounding streets or just sitting idle on the

street with their running engines with little consideration of the

residents.

We have the construction workers who not only park in front of our

residence but talk on their cellphones, drink their coffee, smoke and

chat with one another loudly in the early-morning hours.

Let us not forget the overflow of dirt, filth and trash that has

haunted our streets. Yes, the school district has sent a street

sweeper periodically down our streets in the early-morning hours but

it doesn’t even put a dent in keeping the surrounding areas clean.

What about the temporary chain-link fence that has taken up

residency on Park Avenue, leaving absolutely no room to walk safely

on that side of the street.

We are blessed to live in Laguna Beach, to be able to enjoy a safe

morning stroll or evening walk, to open our windows and enjoy the

ocean air. Unfortunately, this has not taken place this year. Instead

we have to reconsider where we walk to avoid trucks, workers, fences

along Park Avenue that put us unsafely on the street and the muddy

areas that surround the high school. We no longer enjoy the ocean air

because we have to keep our windows closed so we are not overwhelmed

with all the dust from the construction, the exhaust fumes from the

trucks and the over-spray when they painted the outside of the high

school.

When the district received its $3.2-million approval for the

renovation, did it consider the residents and their additional

out-of-pocket expenses that had to be incurred because of what has

been left behind for them to clean up on their properties inside and

out?

Our weekends are supposed to be a balance of catching up on

regular housework, complemented with leisure time to relax, spend

valuable time with our families and friends and a break from a hard

work week. Instead we are constantly washing down our sidewalks,

entry ways, patios, yards and our pets. We now have the constant

upkeep of the inside of our homes from the dust and dirt brought on

by the renovation, picking up the trash others have left behind,

empty soda cans, cigarette butts left by the workers around our homes

and the safety issues regarding so many strangers who freely have

access to our area, in which we already worry about crime brought on

by outsiders.

Of the millions and millions of dollars spent on this project, has

the district done anything to ease the parking situation that has

existed all year long? During the school year, the students are very

limited on where they can park. Because parking spaces around the

school are few, the students are forced sometimes to park in places

where they shouldn’t. They park in our driveways, in front of the

fire hydrant or other areas that are marked “no parking.”

During the weekends, we are confronted with the “outsiders” who

come over to play basketball at the high school, using up all of the

limited parking space available. Now we contend with the construction

workers. They not only use up all of the parking spaces, they are

setting out orange parking cones to reserve a spot for themselves.

The residents and their visitors do not have a place to park.

The school board now has this beautiful new football field and

baseball field -- tell me, where are the visitors going to park? Did

we really need all those new trees in front of the high school?

Wouldn’t a parking lot have been more logical and more accommodating

approach to the students, staff and residents?

In an article written in the Coastline Pilot newspaper, as stated

by school board member El Hathaway, district leaders plan to continue

to meet with neighbors (of St Ann’s) and are planning to schedule a

meeting with homeowners. We, the Marshalls, are also impacted by all

of this and yet the board has failed to notify us, yet Hathaway says

he met with us. When did he plan on notifying us, or are we supposed

to read about it after the fact in the newspaper?

We realize our specific problems do not impact other residents of

Laguna Beach, but we want them to be aware of how insensitive and

inconsiderate the school board’s actions have been throughout all of

this.

* THOMAS AND MARY MARSHALL are Laguna Beach residents.