Council nixes new women’s shop

Cindy Frazier

Saying there are already too many dress shops downtown, the City

Council on Tuesday overruled the Planning Commission and refused to

allow a designer shop to open up in a large space at 381 Forest Ave.

The vote caused jubilance among a contingent of smaller shop

owners, who had campaigned vigorously against the Sophea Parros shop.

They believed the owner, John Parros, could use his buying power to

take best-selling merchandise away from them, drive them out of

business and decimate the lively small-town retail atmosphere in

Laguna.

The city has the authority to approve or reject retailers in the

downtown area based on a number of criteria, including “saturation”

of merchandise. The smaller boutique owners argued that Parros’ store

would duplicate what is already offered in town and compete unfairly.

Parros has one large store in Pasadena and is building another in

Thousand Oaks. Parros said his store would not be simply a seasonal

business, but would attract customers all year long.

“I did not come here to have an uproar,” Parros told the Council.

“I want an opportunity to develop a great store here in Laguna Beach.

I opened a year ago in Pasadena, have done well and want to do the

same thing here, develop a beautiful store.”

The space Parros planned to lease was formerly occupied by a

Banana Republic store, which left more than a year ago. The large,

5,000-square-foot space has been vacant ever since, and the property

owner, Dominique Morel, said he has had a difficult time finding a

tenant that fits the city’s requirements.

“The city won’t let me rent the space,” Morel alleged after the

meeting. “They won’t let me subdivide it, and they won’t let me rent

the whole space.”

The Parros store came in after a plan to open a bank, a small

women’s shop and offices at the site fell through.

There are some 60 small boutiques in Laguna, and dozens of owners

of shops -- with names like Tight Assets, Lala and Envy -- showed up

to plead their case before the council.

“Sophea Parros will take my customers away,” said Jeannette Engel,

owner of Zazu. “They will offer everything we have. People enjoy the

small businesses here in Laguna, they go from store to store.”

“I like an individualized community,” said Martha Meyer, who

recently bought C.J. Rose boutique in the Lumberyard Mall, across

from 381 Forest. “Laguna Beach is unique and special. If we allow a

5,000-square-foot boutique, if big mega-businesses come in, more will

follow.”

The most emotional plea came from Randy Hall, the owner of Muse, a

downtown boutique. Hall testified that the larger Parros store could

take away his livelihood and send him to a convalescent home. Hall

said he is still recovering three years after coming out of a

two-year coma. He also uses a wheelchair.

“I want to walk again,” Hall said. “I live off this store [Muse].

If the store fails, what will happen to me?”

At first, the council seemed to support Parros and be unwilling to

overrule the Planning Commission, which had approved the shop despite

objections by some merchants.

“This store will take the place of the Banana Republic, so that is

a one-for-one replacement,” Mayor Elizabeth Pearson-Schneider said.

Councilwoman Toni Iseman said she had gone to Pasadena to research

Parros’ operation and was impressed.

“This is a very expensive store; the price point is

extraordinarily high,” Iseman said. “I saw a beautiful store, [with

everything] from jeans to weddings. But I understand what the

merchants are saying. It is possible for one 5,000-square-foot store

to wipe out ten 500-square-foot stores.”

The tide turned after Councilwoman Jane Egly told her peers that

she had taken a walk through downtown and found that there were

numerous women’s clothing stores.

“I walked down the street and Laguna Beach is over-saturated with

women’s clothing stores,” Egly said.

Community Development Director John Montgomery acknowledged that

at least five new women’s shops had opened up in the year since the

Banana Republic had vacated the location.

“If you [the council] determine an oversaturation, this space

would have to be something other than a women’s clothing store,”

Montgomery told the council.

As the shop owners watched with delight, the council voted, 4-0,

to reject the Parros shop, and to uphold the appeal.

Councilwoman Cheryl Kinsman had recused herself because she owns

property within the noticing area of the location.