Laguna Arts Commission agrees on changes to Mountain Road bench design

The Laguna Beach Arts Commission on Monday unanimously gave sculptor Michael Stutz the go-ahead to make changes to his design for a bench near the steps leading to the beach at Mountain Road.

Stutz recommended the changes, which include adding rainbow colors to portions of the stainless steel strips, along with a plaque. The steel will be woven in patterns that allow light to filter through the bench, titled “Sea Stone Spills On Ocean Step Hill.”

“It’s a stunning design,” Cultural Arts Manager Sian Poeschl said of the bench, which depicts a wave crashing with a footprint on the sand.

The proposal will next head to the City Council for review.

An Arts Commission subcommittee recommended the design from Stutz, a Fallbrook resident and one of three finalists who presented proposals in June.

Laguna Beach resident Mark Porterfield donated the honorarium for the bench. He met his partner at the site, which sits near the Garden of Peace and Love, an area dedicated to people felled by AIDS.

The bench is not the only feature receiving attention in the Mountain Road beach access area.

The city replaced the stairs, added new landscaping and bicycle racks, and reconfigured an overlook area that offers views of the ocean.

The site is one of several beach access areas with stairs the city has or will replace.

Commissioners on Monday also briefly discussed whether they liked the idea of adding public art near the roundabout at Catalina Street and Los Robles.

Poeschl read an email from landscape architect Ann Christoph, who suggested landscaping for the area instead of adding public art.

“The flowing lines of the streets of El Mirador [neighborhood] are unique in Laguna Beach, and the view of the intersection with the beautiful Eucalyptus citriodoras encircling it is an iconic landscape feature,” Christoph said in her email. “Keeping it very simple without a distracting element in the circle would be the best way to keep the flavor of the area as Ms. [Florence] Yoch designed it.”

Yoch was a prominent landscape architect in the first half of the 20th century, according to a fall 2016 Laguna Beach Art Patron Magazine story.

Some commissioners favored landscaping, saying it would jibe with trees in the area, while others said public art could spruce up the roundabout.

“I drive by that area all the time, and this temporary circle is an eyesore,” Commissioner Donna Ballard said.

Commissioners requested the matter be placed on a future agenda for further discussion.

bryce.alderton@latimes.com

Twitter: @AldertonBryce