LAGUNA BEACH : Renaming of Alley to Be Reconsidered
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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.
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