EDITORIAL: Market dictates in downtown

A new art presence is being greeted warmly, but not without controversy, on Ocean Avenue. Peter Blake is moving from his North Coast Highway gallery location to a larger space formerly occupied by the Ropage beauty salon.

Blake says he reluctantly gave up his North Laguna location “” where he was a solid presence on a block that includes some of the city’s most important galleries “” due to an enormous rent increase that would have put him out of business.

While rents and property values are skyrocketing in that area, small businesses are folding up their tents in other parts of Laguna and landlords are having a hard time filling empty spaces.

Against this backdrop, an artists’ co-op is hoping to take over what used to be a dry cleaner on the same block as the new Blake gallery. The Planning Commission is set to hear the proposal at its Wednesday meeting.

Blake won the right to move to Ocean Avenue despite the street’s zoning as “residential-serving,” which most take to mean service businesses like dry cleaners, beauty salons, shoe repair and the like. Blake argued that his business does serve residents “” by giving artists a place to exhibit their work.

This block of Ocean Avenue also houses the city’s only art supply store, Laguna Art Supply, which is certainly resident-serving.

We’re delighted that an art gallery has found a home in the center of downtown, and that the City Council didn’t stand in the way of this progress. We hope the artists’ co-op can also find accord with the council.

Some on the council are proposing that the Civic Arts District be expanded to include Ocean Avenue.

This is a great idea whose time has not just come “” it’s already here in the form of galleries clamoring to move in.

It’s become clear to many that the zoning in downtown Laguna Beach isn’t helpful to many businesses. While “resident-serving” businesses are nice to have, the city can’t direct market forces any more than it can direct the tides. In this case, it seems the market has spoken, and either the “resident-serving” designation should be removed, or the area should be included in the Civic Arts District, or both.