Guest Column: Laguna Beach Village Entrance Project - Dead on Arrival

By Roger Bütow

"Politics, as a practice, has always been the systematic organization of hatreds." -Henry Adams

If locals became increasingly confused over the “follow-the-bouncing-ball” hubbub regarding the Village Entrance Project (VEP), a great deal of the incertitude and obfuscation came from the major players themselves.

What was initially portrayed as an intransigent, conservative City Council majority vs. concerned residents demanding a vote in the $62 million build-out eventually morphed into a three-way scrum.

The Democratic Club of Laguna Beach were and still are the ringleaders, the steering, inner circle committee that started an online campaign called “LetLagunaVote.com” (LLV).

When my longtime friend Paul (“We, the People”) Merritt became involved à la interventionist Ross Perot in 1992, a third entity, a real alternative emerged. His concept was to actually get a ballot initiative before taxpayers as soon as possible, not pay lip service to manipulate locals but to engage them.

He would become a pariah to the previous opponents in the fracas and simultaneously confounding the parochial media, yet to me he’s a real patriot and frankly, a savior. He brought reason and order to subversive, intentional chaos.

I write “real alternative” because much of the ensuing confusion was self-inflicted by LLV: To me, there’s a prima facie case to be made that for them, this was never about empowerment, about our right to voice our opinion via actually voting.

It has always been a struggle, a Machiavellian confrontation between liberals and conservatives seeking to either keep or acquire control of the Laguna Beach City Council (LBCC). The VEP was destined to become THE wedge issue in November of 2014.

Now? I don’t think so as the ticking bomb has been diffused.

With three seats up for grabs in the 2014 election, all along it was really about getting Toni Iseman re-elected, about Verna Rollinger being re-seated after a 2-year hiatus, about forcing Elizabeth Pearson off of the City Council and seating another liberal Democrat, hence a 3-2 majority.

Kelly Boyd’s health was and still is an issue. He served his time, did his family and the City a tremendous public service during his 8 years but no one really expects him to run again.

The reason that LLV was irked by Paul Merritt’s egalitarian approach, an initiative measure that could have come to the people well before November of 2014, was that it pre-empted their wedge strategy. No VEP equaled no significant political leverage.

So LLV alternately shunned and vilified Paul’s bi-partisan effort to find a true middle ground honoring one of our nation’s basic founding principles: Taxation without representation is unacceptable.

All of that polarizing vitriolic letter-writing campaign initiated by both sides, whether über-progressive or crypto-fascist, only alienated and widened the chasm.

I’d estimate that there’s been a small minority in both camps that were sincere and that weren’t nepotistic tools of the two sides. Only someone quite naïve would believe that the elitists in both groups didn’t encourage and exploit that sincerity factor.

Even more perplexing to me personally was the fact that at least 50% of the flaws and deficiencies were carefully noted and discussed at length within my multiple educational columns at Laguna Beach Patch starting back in June. Both the conservatives and liberals “borrowed” those professional bullet points for their own diatribes yet didn’t appear motivated to give credit where due. 

Paul on the other hand immediately engaged me in dialogue, we’ve been in contact continuously and I’ve supported his ballot initiative from Day 1. Ironically, he actually used the verbiage “Let Laguna vote” months ago at a LBCC meeting, to my knowledge before the LLV cabal even constellated.

Ever the gentleman, after being petitioned repeatedly by LLV who laid proprietary claim, I think that he changed it to “We, the People” to just stop the harassment and pettiness. I think Paul’s more of a hero than locals comprehend---He went out there alone, on point, and as a veteran Marine I say: “Boo-rah!”

Paul’s initiative may now become a moot point with the acquisition of the adjacent 725 Laguna Canyon Road parcel.

If the powers-that-be truly want to do the right thing for the local populace and still remain both fiscally and environmentally correct, then here’s a simple plan to expedite and move forward:

Yes, acquire that adjacent parcel at the price announced. Spend that additional $1 million to create the additional 75 parking spaces and the 2 bridges necessary for access and egress. Beautify (hide) it by creating a nice green screen of trees and shrubs.

No, do not build any parking structure as previously planned for the VEP above existing grade. Single level only.

Yes, do a lot of upgrades regarding similar beautification along the existing Laguna Canyon Road frontage. Try to figure out a park and vegetated area with restrictions and guidelines that don’t result in homeless populations flopping there.

Yes, to compensate for loss of parking in the Arts and Downtown District, to honor our long held commitment to satellite and environmentally friendly strategies, put a second level on the Act V parking lot. We’ll figure the bike and pedestrian transit connectivity plus a trolley service to downtown year round during the public comment process.

Yes, because this new configuration is significantly different, a new or at minimum Revised Draft Environmental Impact Report must be created. Personally, as LBCC Steve Dicterow exclaimed Tuesday night, this IS a “game changer.”

Because of the numerous, complex changes if the adjacent parcel development becomes a reality, because it’s going to be a major revision and alternative project, the rule of thumb under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) mandates that a new document be processed through the food chain. It’s not an option, folks, it’s the law.

As I repeatedly pointed out in my previous columns, barely excavating down the few feet necessary for only the trenching of utilities and grading for hardscape, we’ll not encounter potentially expensive bioremediation issues a multi-level parking garage would have. That could have been a really big-ticket item we can now avoid.

The seismic and liquefaction hazards disappear as well. Ditto for regulatory compliant remediation of soil and contaminated groundwater, not to mention the costs of onsite, perpetual mini-treatment to remove air and water borne pollutants.

Installing a second level on the Act V Lot won’t require much digging nor advanced engineering costs. It could add another 100 spaces in anticipation of the teeming hordes of inland visitors everyone seems to fear will run (and park) amok. That sub-watershed property is out of the aquifer, hence little if any seismic and liquefaction conundrums.

At last night’s LBCC meeting a figure of about $14 million in available funds earmarked for the VEP was discussed. Included was over $500,00 to be taken from our wastewater and storm drain improvements.

Leave those infrastructural improvements inviolate---We desperately need them, they benefit all of us. Use the remaining funds, over $12 million if I heard right, to pay for the whole new show as I’ve laid out herein.

No debt, the whole enchilada for about 20% of the present VEP budget, and I’d estimate about a 3-year implementation arc. Of course this leaves the LB Democrats in LLV without that wedge issue in 2014, but after watching them respond so negatively and refuse to endorse Paul Merritt’s approach, they’ll just have to find a new schtick.

And as for that old nemesis, you know, that divisive project formerly known as the VEP? I always felt that if it ever got to the Cal Coastal Commission it would have been DOA anyway.

It was a fatally flawed project that unraveled once analyzed by professionals, a dead man walking once its major deficiencies were revealed last June. Its supporters just couldn’t bring themselves to admit it until now. Then again, maybe it was mortally wounded and was so monolithic that it just took 6 months to die. R.I.P.

Roger E. Bütow is a 41-year Laguna Beach resident and local builder. He’s also a land use and regulatory compliance advisor. He can be reached at rogerbutow@me.com or at his home office: 949-715-1912. 

Laguna Beach Patch welcomes all opinions regarding the Village Entrance Project and any other topic.