Builder might appeal ACT V

The Laguna Beach City Council may have authorized a homeless shelter to be built at the ACT V parking lot Oct. 6, but its work is not done.

Laguna Beach builder Roger von Butow this week threatened to appeal the proposed haven for the homeless population if the city fails to comply with California Coastal Commission rules for coastal development.

Commission staff analyst Meg Vaughn said Tuesday that the proposed temporary nighttime shelter, as described in the city’s Oct. 6 agenda bill, triggers the need for approval of a Coastal Development Permit. Whether the city or the commission is the issuer of the permit — in question due to the state of limbo in which the city’s annexation of the ACT V parcel languishes — the project is appealable to the commission, Vaughn said.

“The city is looking at several options to comply with Coastal Commission regulations and zoning laws or to take advantage of exemptions, which allow local jurisdictions to address such matters on an emergency basis,” Assistant City Manager John Pietig said.

“I believe that creating an alternative sleeping location and addressing issues related to camping and lodging in beaches and parks will help further the Coastal Commission’s goal of improving public access to coastal resources.”

Von Butow e-mailed city officials Monday his reasons for submitting a grievance to the commission last week, and Vaughn’s advice about the permit.

“If the [city] does not follow this guidance, I will have no option but to pursue it further and in a more formal venue,” von Butow said. In a subsequent e-mail Monday, von Butow issued a statement to explain his complaint to the commission.

“As a 38-year builder in Laguna and South County, I’m not allowed to circumvent building codes and laws,” von Butow said. “I’m not allowed to cut corners and exempt myself as City Hall has in this case.”

He is adamant that the project requires a coastal development permit and should be subject to a properly noticed Planning Commission hearing.

“If approved, then the [City Council] can sustain it as the local lead agency under their local coastal plan,” von Butow said.

“Therein lies the rub.”

The coastal development permit for the construction of the city Corporation Yard at the ACT V lot had to be approved by the Coastal Commission because the parcel was not within the city’s limits at the time. It was what is often called a white hole. It has since been annexed.

After annexation, the city applied to the commission about a year ago to certify an amendment to its Local Coastal Plan that would put the parcel in city hands, but it has not yet been addressed, leaving jurisdiction of the development permits up in the air, Vaughn said.

“It’s a bit of a gray area,” Vaughn said. “It may be a case of deferred certification.”

That could give the city the authority to issue the permit, but would not exempt it from an appeal to the commission, because the ACT V parcel lies within 100 feet of a stream, Vaughn said.

“It is appealable to the CCC, so if there are unresolved legal issues this could take up to a few months, but it is better to make it bullet-proof up-front than wait for attorneys to come out of the woodwork later,” von Butow said.

A few months delay could back the project up to the spring, most likely past the worst winter weather, with mandatory closure set for mid-June to comply with coastal commission requirements for festival season parking.

“I do believe the options we are going to recommend to the council on [Tuesday] would allow the project to move forward on a timely basis,” Pietig said. “That basically means on schedule as quick as we can get it up and running, given the other logistics of leasing the modular unit, hiring staff and putting contracts into place, etc.”

As approved by the council at the Oct. 6 meeting, the city would establish a temporary sleeping location at the ACT V parking lot, with a goal to have it operational by Nov. 1.

Funds will be transferred to the ACT V project from the cold weather shelter program, which will no longer be needed if the homeless haven is operational by the winter, which is expected to have heavier than usual rainfall. The early rain storm this week gave credence to the prediction of a La Niña winter.

Police will maintain round-the-clock patrols in Heisler and Main Beach parks and adjacent beaches until complaints and concerns about public safety and illegal activity have materially decreased.

The city manager and City Atty. Philip Kohn were directed to make preparations to enforce state laws on illegal camping when the shelter opens; prepare a city ordinance, similar to the one in Santa Ana that withstood legal challenges, prohibiting camping on public property not designated for the use; and report back to the council on enactment of a curfew in city parks and beaches from midnight to 5 a.m.

A proposed curfew is on the council’s Tuesday agenda.