Towers rejected

A plan by the city to place permanent lifeguard towers at more coves and beaches has sunk in rough waters.

The California Coastal Commission last week upheld an appeal of the city’s permanent guard tower plan and told city officials that they would have to continue with temporary structures that would be removed during the non-summer season at Picnic, Bird Rock, Sleepy Hollow, Thalia Street and Oak Street beaches.

Marine Safety officials said the permanent towers — featuring sun shades and heavy-duty steps — were necessary to fulfill OSHA requirements and keep lifeguards protected from sun and wind while they watched swimmers. But critics called the towers — placed on caissons sunk into the sand — ugly and objected to their placement on the beaches year-round. The caisson-style towers are in place at eight other beaches, including Main Beach.

The city’s temporary towers are set up around Memorial Day and taken down around Labor Day.

Sandra Siani, a Laguna Beach resident who filed the appeal, said she is pleased the commission listened to her criticisms of the original plan.

“It has been two years of very hard work and a lot of research,” Siani wrote in an e-mail. “My concerns were to keep the lifeguards protected from the elements — sun, wind, rain — which would reduce sun exposure, therefore it would protect them from skin cancer and sun damage, meeting OSHA requirements, in a safe and stable enclosed temporary lifeguard tower design.

“At the same time [I wanted to] address the issues that a permanent tower would have created: dramatic impact on public access and recreation, hazards to the environment and erosion, and negative visual impacts to the public.”

City Manager Ken Frank said the city is pleased that its basic tower design was approved.

“The California Coastal Commission overturned its staff recommendation, which was to approve three of the five new lifeguard towers which we were proposing,” Frank said. “The commission did not approve any of the towers permanently affixed to a caisson.

“On the other hand, the commission approved the basic format of the tower — without the caisson. We will be using about four of the towers on skids this summer and hoping that the sand does not shift too frequently.”