Laguna Council Postpones Vote on Proposed Nuclear-Free Zone

The Laguna Beach City Council voted Tuesday night to delay for two months a decision on a proposed ordinance that would declare the city a nuclear-free zone.

The sponsor of the proposal, council member Lida Campbell Lenney, asked for the extension after three other members said they would oppose the ordinance if a vote were taken Tuesday night.

Lenney said she wants the time to provide the other council members “with more information than they’ve been given.”

Under the ordinance, the production, transport or use of nuclear weapons within the city limits would be prohibited and punishable by a $500 fine and six months in jail. Signs would be posted at the city limits stating that Laguna Beach is a nuclear-free zone.

One-hundred thirty-two cities and counties across the nation, including Chicago and New York City, have passed similar ordinances or resolutions. Sixteen California cities and counties have done so, but no such ordinance has been passed in Orange County.

Several residents spoke in favor of the ordinance Tuesday night, asking the council to set an example for the county’s other cities.

“This is not a matter of whether you are for the defense of our country or against the defense of our country,” said local resident Estelle Warner. “Nuclear proliferation is a path to disaster. . . . It’s a symbolic gesture.”

But Mayor Neil J. Fitzpatrick and council members Dan Kenney and Martha Collison said they object to passing a law to make a political statement. They indicated that they may support a non-binding resolution declaring Laguna Beach to be a nuclear-free zone.

Lenney, however, said she prefers that the ordinance be a resolution “because it has the teeth of law.”