Laguna Adopts Strict Downtown Plan Despite Criticism

Concerned that Laguna’s downtown business district is losing its quaint, village charm, the Laguna Beach City Council on Tuesday adopted its long-awaited Downtown Specific Plan, a sweeping design measure 7 years in the making that many merchants believe is too restrictive.

The plan, which council members hope will keep the district from being overrun by yogurt stands and T-shirt shops that abound in many California beach cities, will require downtown’s more than 400 shops and businesses to tow the line regarding colors, building size, outdoor displays and even the kind of plants they use.

However, many merchants decry the plan as heavy-handed and say that this time the city has gone too far.

The City Council has “no damn right to say who goes in and who goes out,” local pharmacy owner Mack McCalla roared earlier Tuesday. “I think you’ll find everyone in downtown will call them a bunch of turkeys.” And Jack Hansen, owner of Axline’s Village Shoes, groused: “I think the specific plan is anti-business. Let’s let free enterprise take its course.”

But Councilman Dan Kenney said that free enterprise has run its course and that in the process Laguna’s unique identity has become diluted by a crush of outside, tourist-oriented businesses. At the same time, he said, an alarming number of resident-serving businesses have been pulling out.

“One of the questions I was first asked as a councilman was what can we do to preserve our small-town atmosphere,” said Kenney, who conceived the specific plan shortly after being elected to the council in 1982. “Well, this is a real major step in the right direction.”

The plan becomes law in 30 days. According to a Downtown Specific Plan report adopted by the council, the city then will have power under its zoning and planning authority to:

- Curb the sizes of new businesses to one story and no more than 5,000 square feet. Previous city ordinance allowed downtown businesses to have two stories.

- Forbid the use of fluorescent colors, large marquees, simulated materials and highly reflective glass.

- Discourage businesses with a mass-market line of products, “since these detract from the sense of distinction that is important to the downtown’s identity.”

Under the plan, the city also plans to spend about $5 million on a number of capital improvements, including: paving crosswalks with brick or textured material, consolidating parking meters along Forest Avenue to make room for pedestrians, paving alleys with cobblestones and putting in street lamps to lure more pedestrians and landscaping Broadway at the entrance to downtown to “create a boulevard effect.”

No timetable has been set for the capital improvements.

The introduction of the specific plan report, which was prepared by the city Planning Commission, explained that the new design rules were needed because of “considerable concern” in recent years over downtown’s changing character.

“In order to maintain Laguna Beach as a community with a unique character, efforts must be made to protect the downtown with its eclectic mix of architectural styles, small-scale buildings, pedestrian orientation, rich variety of shops and services and sense of community,” the report states.

Considerable public input went into the preparation of this report. Dozens of meetings have been held over the years, first before a citizens’ advisory committee that was impaneled to draw up a set of recommendations and then before the Planning Commission, which voted Dec. 14 to ask the council to carry them out.

At its Jan. 10 meeting, the council voted 4 to 0 in favor of the first reading of the plan, with Councilwoman Martha Collison abstaining because she owns downtown property. The second and final reading of the plan was passed 3 to 0 Tuesday night, with Collison again abstaining and Councilman Neil G. Fitzpatrick absent.

At a Jan. 10 public hearing before the council, local merchants asked the city to postpone a vote on the matter until after an economic impact study could be conducted to gauge the effect of the downtown plan. Tim Howell, secretary of the Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce and a vocal downtown plan critic, said the study was needed to determine what impact the plan would have on taxes and property values.

“Our concern is that this plan does not have any economic or marketing basis,” Howell said. “This is nothing more than a land-use document.”

The council members, concerned that such a study would dictate the plan, decided to press on without commissioning a study. City Planning Commissioner Becky Jones noted, though, that the downtown plan is to be evaluated for problems on a regular basis. She also tried to assure merchants that the city would not be inflexible in the implementation of the plan.

“We certainly do not dictate any color or that you will put this type of plant there,” Jones said. “We’re not trying to create any kind of artificial, Disneyland-type main street. We’re trying to keep what we have.”

But many downtown merchants were skeptical about the city being so tolerant, charging that it has been inflexible in the enforcement of controversial sign and outdoor-display ordinances adopted in recent years. The ordinances restrict the size of signs and prohibit outdoor displays unless they are expressly approved.

And as far as preserving downtown’s ambiance, the merchants insist that they do a good job of that without any outside help.

“We’ve already made it gorgeous,” said one shopkeeper who asked not to be identified. “And the city has done nothing.”

DOWNTOWN LAGUNA’S NEW LOOK

Here are some provisions of Laguna Beach’s new Downtown Specific Plan:

New buildings are restricted to one story, unless second floor houses the elderly or artists.

An entire street is set aside for the exclusive use of resident-serving businesses such as barbershops, hardware stores and food markets.

Natural materials such as stone, brick, tile and wood are appropriate for building use. Simulated materials must be “carefully reviewed for quality.”

Clear or lightly tinted glass and glass blocks may be used, but highly reflective glass is inappropriate.

Marquees should be in scale to the door they cover and the building facade. They should not run the length of the facade. Large marquees are inappropriate.

The number of colors used on a building should be limited. Too many contrasting colors can become “garish.” Fluorescent colors “are not appropriate to the village character.”

Trash and storage areas must be screened by landscaping, fencing, berms or other devices. Trash will be collected daily to avoid “intense” odors.

A list of recommended trees, shrubs and flowers will be established.

Alleys should be paved with cobblestones and decorated with street lamps to encourage pedestrian use.

Parking meters along Forest Avenue, downtown’s main pedestrian thoroughfare, should be replaced with a less obtrusive meter.