Hansen: 2014 was a mostly tough year for Laguna

It was a strange year in Laguna Beach, which means we kept our reputation intact.

At times we were like hyperactive children bickering over little things that don’t really matter in the long run. On the other hand, we also quietly managed to work painstakingly behind the scenes to gain consensus on a few important issues.

So here is my Top 10 list of things that I thought were top of mind and compelling in Laguna this year. One important thing to note: Laguna is filled with many interesting, brilliant, unassuming characters who never make the news. This list is not about them.

10. Water sports continue to rule: Whether it’s surfing, skimboarding, stand-up paddleboarding or diving, our ocean is still the best and most consistent news story we have. While politicians and citizen activists quibble over planning documents or zoning density, the rest of the world arrives in Laguna to enjoy the beach. And boy did the beach deliver.

It was a stunning summer, which included the 51st annual Brooks Street Surfing Classic. It’s clear that for Laguna locals, our first responsibility is to serve as gracious hosts for tourists. And we do it well.

9. View ordinance sees clearly: This was one of those important sleeper stories that you probably did not pay attention to if you were not affected. The city amended the view ordinance in a way that protects trees and views. Spearheaded by Councilman Kelly Boyd, a committee worked for about 18 months to hammer out a proposal. While it still had its critics, the amendment is a reasonable approach that will help residents while preserving our natural environment.

8. The Ranch goes to Washington: So did you hear that Mark Christy tried to install a toilet paper holder in a bathroom at The Ranch, and the California Coastal Commission slapped him with an injunction for failing to get a permit? It has almost come to that for the beleaguered businessman trying to resurrect what was arguably a subpar golf course.

Before his arrival, the course was on life support and the adjacent hotel was, let’s be honest, a dump. Christy has completely turned it around with due diligence. Yet he still fights with the commission, which in my opinion has lost touch with its mission. This story will continue, unfortunately, in 2015.

7. The slow demise of Laguna’s soul: Some old-timers would argue that this year was not any different for Laguna’s steady descent into mediocrity. Whether it’s the continued invasion of chain restaurants, tourism replacing artistry or art becoming a commodity, Laguna has not defended its honor particularly well this year.

Artists in particular continue to leave out of frustration because their “artist colony” is being eroded by exorbitant rents and misplaced priorities. The city’s most vocal critics believe that Laguna has become a sad caricature of itself. The more you talk to influential artists, musicians, writers and culture aficionados, the more you hear that Laguna has become a warm, soft velvet coffin.

6. Laguna Canyon withers: It’s the spine of Laguna, so anything that happens in the city is felt by the canyon. And this year, like surgery without anesthetic, the pain was obvious. Several very high-profile projects exacerbated the fact that the canyon has a poor master plan. The hotly contested live-work project, which we will get to in a minute, got the most chatter but it was just a symptom.

Right on its heels was the massive public storage proposal, which failed to get past initial planning reviews. And in the background was the ever-expanding Laguna College of Art + Design. Let’s not forget the upcoming permanent supportive housing proposal for Laguna’s homeless.

All of this development was proposed for the “rural” canyon with its two-lane road, which is already gridlocked. Will 2015 prove even worse for Laguna Canyon? We will see.

5. Live and work — but not here: In classic not-in-my-backyard fashion, some Laguna residents opposed a legitimate project by throwing the kitchen sink at it. Artist Louis Longi ultimately prevailed in getting the live-work housing project approved by the city. But the battle was unnecessarily rancorous.

The process has become a common refrain in Laguna Beach. If you don’t like something — even if it abides by the rules — squeak that wheel loud and hard until someone breaks. Fortunately, Longi withstood the pressure.

4. Let’s revitalize downtown but not really do anything: Like an aging beauty queen, Laguna Beach stares too long in the mirror — the rearview mirror. Whether it’s compromise by committee or hiring yet another consultant to tell us the obvious, the city is very adept at moving sideways, not forward.

This year, the downtown plan was another example of busy work not realized. Quick, how many plans, revisions, addendums, studies and other activities are currently in progress relating to downtown? We don’t know, and we will never know, because nothing will get done.

3. Village Entrance to nowhere: It always bothered me that the infamous Village Entrance Project was never really an entrance. There was no “Welcome to Laguna Beach” archway over Laguna Canyon Road. It wasn’t anything, really, except a parking garage and a few rose bushes along a concrete drainage ditch. So much fuss over so little.

2. The election that fizzled: This election raised so many expectations — so much intrigue about the possibility of a major change on the City Council. Instead, we voted for two longtime incumbents and a veteran planning commissioner, Robert Zur Schmiede, who has been a political insider since the Mexican-American War. No, Mr. Z seems like a good guy, but this election has to go down as the most anticlimactic in recent memory.

1. How many people have to die?: Unfortunately, this year set a record for major pedestrian and bicycle accidents in Laguna Beach. Seemingly every week brought sad, new headlines of either deaths or substantial injuries by drivers not paying attention to — or not seeing — people in crosswalks and bike lanes. It was simply unacceptable.

It’s too bad that we probably won’t have the wherewithal to fix the safety issues. We won’t de-emphasize our reliance on cars. We won’t make the tough political and financial investments in overhauling a flawed mobility plan. We won’t fight state and county agencies over the right to change Coast Highway and the canyon.

Or will we?

DAVID HANSEN is a writer and Laguna Beach resident. He can be reached at hansen.dave@gmail.com.