‘Bootleg’ Units Stir Boos in S. Laguna

It’s like being on a hit list, they say.

Some South Laguna folks don’t trust their neighbors anymore. They believe some neighbors have been sneaking around the seaside village looking for homes that violate the building code, ranging from illegal plumbing to illegal garage apartments.

“There’s always been a real live-and-let-live attitude in South Laguna, and now we have people ratting on their neighbors,” resident Doug Turkot said.

Tales of tattling have divided the community, and a group of citizens has vowed to fight for what it believes is South Laguna’s historical ocean-village personality.

To hear longtime residents tell it, South Lagunans have been hammering out additions and conversions in their homes for more than 60 years. But those extra rooms have brought extra people, extra cars, and, finally, complaints from residents who have become fed up with unsightly construction and the lack of parking.

In the past year, the county began to investigate the complaints. But because South Laguna was annexed to Laguna Beach on Dec. 31, the city has hired a code enforcement officer and the investigations have gained speed.

Residents are upset because some of the complaints are anonymous--believed to have come from disgruntled neighbors. Property owners also fear that the complaints could leave second-unit tenants on the street and could financially strap the owners, who rely on renters to make the house payments.

Gladys Hanes, who now lives on a hill atop the village, has helped initiate the Assn. for the Preservation of Diversity in South Laguna, a group recently formed to combat the complaints.

“I was a renter and I know what it was like trying to find a place to live,” she said, referring to the converted apartments, with monthly rents ranging from $300 to $800.

“Over the years, properties have been upgraded and what I say improved,” said Bill Wendt, an artist who bought a home with a converted garage in 1979. He said if he couldn’t rent out the apartment downstairs, he never would have qualified for a home mortgage.

“All these houses sit on very narrow lots. This is an older section of town and these are not family dwellings,” Wendt said, noting that the residences really are small beach cottages, rather than houses. Most of them sit on 30-by-40-foot lots.

But city officials say they cannot ignore the zoning and building codes.

“We can’t just wave a wand over illegal units,” Laguna Beach City Manager Kenneth C. Frank said.

Those who have filed the complaints believe some of the second units have become slum-like, especially because of the close proximity of the structures, some which are only 10 feet apart.

“The area has become too dense,” South Laguna Civic Assn. president Rich Jeffries said when the community was annexed to Laguna Beach. “There is no off-street parking, and there is generally a lack of pride. . . . The area is not as aesthetically pleasing as one that is under enforcement by the Planning Department.”

But residents contend that they just maintain a family-type relationship with their neighbors to work out problems such as parking. Many live on narrow, poorly paved roads, where they own half the street between them.

Makeshift signs are posted, one declaring: “Don’t Even Think About Parking Here.” But it is all handled in an easygoing fashion. Sure, it might be a little crowded, some residents say, but that’s part of the beach-town atmosphere.

Others are rankled because they have been singled out on their block. There have been 100 complaints lodged to date, but according to 1980 census figures, there are about 275 illegal second units in South Laguna.

“The attitude is that it’s fine to have the units as long as no one files a complaint,” said Harold Wilson, whose beachfront home has an apartment downstairs. “What about all the others? It’s defense based on discrimination prosecution.”

Vigilantism?

“In the history of Laguna Beach, it’s always been the attitude that we have ordinances, but we have never taken a vigilante posture,” Mayor Dan Kenney said.

But when complaints are filed, the city is obligated to inspect, he said.

City officials said that the county had been actively pursuing the complaints, which are in various stages of completion. Some residents already had been notified by the county; others were notified last week by the city.

The Preservation of Diversity group will present its case at the City Council’s March 1 meeting, asking the city to agree to either designate the buildings as legal, but nonconforming to the zoning code, or to change the zoning to allow second units.

The county adopted a zoning code for South Laguna in 1936, limiting residential construction to one single-family dwelling per parcel of land. That transferred to the city when the community was annexed.

“The problem is some of these have been bootlegged in such a way that the wiring is not safe,” Kenney said.

City Manager Frank said that the problem isn’t necessarily the separate units, but illegal construction.

“Not all the complaints are for totally separate units,” Frank said. “Some are for people who had added a new bedroom or bathroom to a house without a permit.”

He said that the county and the city are obligated to enforce the state building code, which outlines safety measures for such things as wiring, plumbing and window installation.

“We can’t turn our backs to it,” Frank said, noting that the city is liable if there is a fire caused by faulty wiring.

“Some of the illegal construction can be legalized with wiring and plumbing changes,” Frank pointed out.

Still, residents feel as if they are being forced to conform to an urban setting, when they live in an area known for its diversity.

“The reason we bought (the house) is because there are a lot of individualists out here,” artist Wendt said.

“We like the diversity,” Wendt said. “We have no problem with crime. We’d just like to carry on. These parties are now using scare tactics.”

Frank said that many homeowners can rectify the illegal second-unit violation by connecting the two residences and removing the kitchen.

“They can put a hot plate in,” Frank said. “People can have their own bedroom and bathroom and still have their privacy.”

And some residents, like Harold Wilson, are willing to connect their separate residences in order to keep their homes.

Wilson’s $1-million oceanside home has an allegedly illegal unit--a one-bedroom apartment with a staircase leading to the beach below.

“As near as we can estimate, it’s been there for 38 or 40 years, but there’s no record of it at the county,” said Wilson, a retired real estate broker and former aerospace engineer.

He and his apartment tenant, Paul Farber, have had an architect draw up the plans to connect the house and apartment with a spiral staircase.

“But I am determined not to take out the kitchen. The kitchen will only be taken out by a judge’s order and with a citation for contempt of court.” Wilson said.

“I don’t want to give that place up,” said Farber, who is willing to give up his kitchen if he has to. “If they want us to connect the two places, fine. I’ve gotten through so many difficult times just having that view. It’s been my therapy.”

Wilson said that when he bought the house in 1969, there were six other oceanside homes on the market and four of them had second units built in, similar to his.

“Either there’s been a good deal of longtime neglect or it’s just a longtime history of multiple occupancy,” Wilson said.

But the activists intend to fight.

“This has been Sleepy Hollow for too long,” resident Adrian Chayie said. “It’s time for us to grow up around here, politically.”

If South Lagunans are forced to remove their second units “it will really rip up the fabric of our community,” Doug Turkot said.

“It’s going to be touchy,” Mayor Kenney said. “But we hope to answer their concerns without upsetting the whole community. I’m not sure how we’re going to do that.”