Hansen: Something’s wrong when ‘sidewalk sale’ makes news

While it might not sound like news, Laguna Beach is having a sidewalk sale this Saturday.

Allegedly, it’s the first time the city has sanctioned a highly regulated sidewalk swap meet.

Rest assured, the Orange County Market Place at the Orange County fairgrounds is not in any danger of competition, but consider this: There could be bins of trinkets on Laguna’s hallowed sidewalks — as long as they don’t violate the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Or extend into the public’s right of way.

Or limit parking.

Or basically annoy anyone.

Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Laura Henkels conceded that the event might not seem like a stop-the-presses story, but she and her team worked hard to jump through all the right hoops, including getting the official temporary use permit (TUP), which came with a laundry list of conditions.

“The chamber applied for the TUP on behalf of all the businesses to have this happen,” she said. “This is a big step forward for the chamber and the city. They’re trusting that things that the chamber wants to do on behalf of the businesses are actually going to work.”

Henkels kept her chamber hat on nice and tight, so she did not say anything that could be perceived as negative.

So I will say it for her.

A sidewalk sale should not be so hard.

Sandwich signs should not be hard.

Creative efforts to engage the public should be fun, not hard.

And by way, ADA rules that govern sidewalk widths would not be a problem downtown if Forest Avenue was closed.

We could have a full-blown swap meet, a flea market. It would be our own civic redundancy: a Laguna bazaar.

Alas, the official sidewalk sale will come and go. If it’s successful, Henkels said, the chamber might try to do it quarterly.

“As long as we’re successful, then I think the city will continue to support things like that,” she said. “I think most of the restrictions have to do with the ADA because you can’t block the sidewalks, and our sidewalks are not big. If you go to Corona del Mar, their sidewalks are a lot larger. Ours are just so old and small.”

There are a lot of things that are different in Laguna, but all things are possible.

Henkels said she sees some progress with the city, especially since the chamber took more of a proactive role within the economic development committee.

As part of the sidewalk sale promotion, for example, the city agreed to put a trolley on Main Beach covered with advertising.

“They are thinking a lot more progressively and understanding that it will help all the business owners, and it’s not going to be an eyesore,” she said. “In the neighboring cities you can put up banners and promote your community, but we don’t really have that. I think the council members approving the trolley — and even pushing for it — is a really good sign.”

Meanwhile, business generally in Laguna is trudging along. Some shops came and went this year. Other longtime tenants (like Muse Boutique and Stephen Frank Garden and Home) reportedly lost their leases over rent increases.

Henkels said the chamber watches vacancy rates and trends closely, hoping to prevent systemic problems.

“I think business overall in the summertime was up for most people,” she said. “I know the hotels were at capacity, so I think the hotels did really well. I haven’t heard anything disheartening yet.”

To keep small shops in business, Henkels believes it’s vital to get locals off their computers and into their local boutiques, where handmade, artisan gifts are a much better value than Internet discounts.

“What we’re trying to focus on as a chamber is getting the people who live in town to continually be engaged and shopping and dining here rather than going out of town,” she said. “We’re going to continue having events like the sidewalk sale as much as possible — at least once a quarter. And then we’re going to push our Think Laguna First campaign through the holiday season.”

It remains to be seen if the shop-local efforts will make a significant impact, but if the city of Laguna continues to loosen its tight policy reins, maybe there will be more success stories to report.

Maybe, just maybe, “Laguna holds sidewalk sale” won’t be news.

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