LAGUNA BEACH : Renaming of Alley to Be Reconsidered

A plan to rename an alley after a local restaurateur and community activist who died recently has encountered resistance and will be reconsidered by the City Council tonight.

The council voted unanimously in March to rename a strip of Cedar Way, an alley behind the Cottage Restaurant, after Harry Ansel Moon Jr., a self-described “Lagunatic” who originally owned the restaurant. Names being considered include Moon Walk or Moon Lane.

The change is opposed by the manager of a local post office branch, who says that it could cause problems in mail delivery, and by a Cedar Way apartment complex owner, who says that the new name would have a negative effect on his property.

In a letter to the council, apartment owner John P. King Jr. said: “It sounds ‘spacey,’ reminiscent of a cartoon and like a location for beach shacks.

“I make every effort to maintain the quality of my apartments and want to continue to attract professional people as tenants.”

A staff memo to the council suggests that the city might want to name another roadway--perhaps a new street or one that does not have mail deliveries--in honor of Moon.

Other options, according to the memo, would be to honor Moon in another way, as by dedicating a park bench or landscaped area in his name, or inserting a plaque in the sidewalk near the restaurant.

Moon’s contributions to the city included regularly making his restaurant available for fund-raisers and other community meetings.

He also worked diligently to try to help solve the area’s traffic problems.

Moon died Feb. 17 of heart failure at age 64.