LAGUNA BEACH : Council to Consider 3 Controversial Issues

The City Council on Tuesday will consider three subjects that have sparked considerable disputes in the past: smoking regulations for restaurants, a city park for dogs and a plan to build a home inside a rock.

Debate over smoking regulations has raged in this city for almost a year. While most council members favor a ban on smoking in local restaurants, restaurateurs have argued that such restrictions would further strain local businesses, already hurt by the recession.

The city’s current law, which requires restaurants to reserve 60% of their dining areas for nonsmokers, is one of the toughest in the county.

In an effort to reach a compromise, a task force including representatives from local hotels and restaurants and health care professionals met in June to discuss options.

While disagreements have continued over the smoking ban, task force representatives crafted an ordinance for the city to consider Tuesday.

“It was a consensus,” said City Councilwoman Lida Lenney, who worked with the others toward the compromise.

The proposed law would require that restaurants automatically increase the nonsmoking space to 80% on Jan. 1, 1993, and to 90% a year later. A total smoking ban could go into effect Jan. 1, 1995.

The council will also look for the second time at a proposal to build a two-story home inside Aliso Rock, a landmark at Aliso Beach.

The home design calls for the rock to be scooped out like a pumpkin and for the home to be built inside it so that the rock looks largely unchanged to the thousands of Coast Highway motorists who zip past it each day.

The design was first rejected by the city’s Design Review Board in January.

However, the City Council later said the property owner should be allowed to build in the rock, and it returned the plan to the Design Review Board, which granted the property owner a conditional approval last month.

Council member Ann Christoph, however, has appealed the plan, saying too much dirt would have to be removed to build a two-story home on the site.

“I think we indicated we don’t want to prevent them from building a home on the site, but that doesn’t mean they can build as though there was not a rock there,” she said. “In my opinion, they should build a much smaller home and have less excavation.”

The council will also consider giving its blessing to a plan to open the county’s first park for dogs only.

The dog-park proposal grew out of debate over whether dogs should be allowed to run off the leash on city beaches during specified hours.

While the council rejected that idea in April, it did agree with dog owners that their pets should have someplace to romp freely.

The city has selected a strip of land at 20652 Laguna Canyon Road for the fenced park.

The proposal is being pushed by RUFF, a group composed of local dog owners, which has agreed to donate up to $1,000 to prepare the park for the unleashed animals, including installing additional fencing and “pooper scooper” dispensers at the park.

If the council approves the plan, the park will probably open in October.