LAGUNA BEACH : Survey Due on New Tax to Buy Land

Laguna Beach residents, who voted overwhelmingly in 1990 to tax themselves to preserve open space in Laguna Canyon, will soon be polled again to determine whether they are willing to spend more money to buy land elsewhere in the city.

The City Council voted 4 to 0 this week to pay $13,500 for a survey of 300 residents regarding whether they would support a multimillion-dollar tax increase to buy hillsides and ocean bluffs that would otherwise be targeted for development. Councilwoman Martha Collison was absent.

Residents jumped quickly onto the preservation bandwagon two years ago, approving a $20-million bond to keep a housing tract from being built in Laguna Canyon. However, Councilwoman Lida Lenney, a leader in that effort, admitted Wednesday that it has become increasingly difficult for many residents to dip into their wallets.

“It’s fair to say lots of people are hurting in these recessionary times and that’s got to be an important factor,” she said. “There is a limit and, basically, that’s what we need to understand, where people’s limits are.”

The action followed months of grappling over how to answer concerns of residents in the rustic Diamond-Crestview neighborhood. Unless the city decides to buy some of the vacant lots there, it could triple in population over the next few years because of a court-approved development plan.

In cases such as Diamond-Crestview, Lenney said, residents might be asked to pay a larger percentage of the tax, depending on their proximity to the neighborhood.

The council has also been toying with the idea of someday buying Treasure Island Trailer Park and eventually converting part of the oceanfront parcel into a public park. Another area of particular interest to the city is a hillside parcel above South Laguna known as the Binion property.

To test public sentiment regarding the possible purchase of these and other parcels, the council agreed to hire J. Moore Methods, the firm that polled residents on the canyon land purchase.

The Laguna Beach Taxpayers Assn. has already weighed in against the proposal. President Robert Mosier said the group discussed the possible tax increase Sunday and rejected it.

“We essentially said we do not support any general citywide tax increase for purchasing real estate and reducing the city’s tax base,” he said.

Lenney and Councilwoman Ann Christoph will join members of the Planning and Open Space commissions in preparing the questionnaire and forming a list of possible properties, purchase prices and finance options. During a telephone survey that should follow shortly thereafter, residents will probably be asked which parcels they are most interested in preserving and how much they would be willing to pay for them.