Goodbye, ‘Relaxo’

The old Chateau Relaxo will one day be only a memory.

The half-century-old vacant home that has stood on the sands at 1,000 Steps beach since 1954 will be demolished, city officials say.

The home, which has a heart-shaped saltwater pool and a partly torn-down pier structure, is deteriorating badly and has been an “attractive nuisance” for years.

The home — known locally as “Chateau Relaxo” — is frequently used by kids for partying, and city officials are afraid someone will fall through the top story of the dilapidated structure.

Graffiti and safety issues

The home and surrounding concrete walls have been heavily hit by graffiti, and neighbors of the scenic South Laguna beach area have been asking city officials to force the property owner to clean it up.

South Laguna Civic Assn. president Bill Rihn asked the Laguna Beach City Council to attack the problem of beach graffiti and the hazard of the deteriorated structure at 32225 Coast Highway at a recent meeting.

Rihn claimed the site was “covered with gang-related graffiti,” which he feared would invite more vandalism to the area. He also pointed out that the structure is a safety hazard and that beachgoers can easily climb into it.

“We request that the gang-related graffiti be removed immediately, and that the dangers inherent in the derelict building on the beach be remedied as soon as possible,” Rihn said.

Laguna Beach police could not confirm that the graffiti is, in fact, related to gang activity.

City steps in

City officials had already notified the property owner, Gary Groves, in October that the city considered the property a public nuisance and that formal proceedings would be held to force the owner to demolish it unless the owner took action.

“We asked the owner to either rehab the property or demo it,” said Joe Trujillo, a city code enforcement official. “We were happy when the property owner decided to take on the project. He will be doing the whole community a favor.”

The owner has hired local architect Morris Skenderian to plan the demolition and restoration, Trujillo said.

Under the agreement with the city, the property will be returned to its natural state, he said.

First, the owner will be required to remove the graffiti, and then to secure the property by putting up a fence and boarding up the home.

Then the structure and an adjacent concrete wall will be torn down, a process that is likely to be costly, Trujillo said.

On Monday, the site was teeming with young beachgoers during a record-breaking heat wave, and a huge, apparently fresh block of graffiti was visible. Although the site is “buildable,” Trujillo said he does not believe the property owner will seek to rebuild there or put the property on the market.

‘Through the cracks’

Trujillo said the 1,000 Steps property had long been a source of concern but had “fallen through the cracks” of code enforcement.

With the downturn in the economy, as many other properties in Laguna Beach are being vacated — either through foreclosure of habitable homes or through abandonment of projects not completed — the city has made code enforcement regarding these properties a priority, Trujillo said.

Ironically, a previous property owner had tried unsuccessfully in the early 1970s to convince the Orange County Board of Supervisors to allow a 6-foot masonry wall to be built around the property to secure it from partyers and beachgoers, citing trespassing, illicit activities and nudity on the site.

CINDY FRAZIER is city editor of the Coastline Pilot. She can be contacted at (949) 380-4321 or cindy.frazier@latimes.com.