Lagunans Willing to Pay More Taxes to Save Open Land

Two years after voting overwhelmingly to tax themselves to preserve open space in Laguna Canyon, a majority of Laguna Beach residents surveyed recently said they would again hike their taxes to keep local hillsides from being developed, according to poll results released by the city on Wednesday.

While 54% said another bond measure to buy undeveloped land should again be placed before city voters, the survey did not indicate that the city would have the necessary two-thirds vote needed in an election to approve a tax increase.

“I would say to get 54% in these economic times is not bad,” Councilman Neil G. Fitzpatrick said. “I would expect there to be some serious discussion about it at our next council meeting.”

The random telephone survey of 300 residents was prompted by controversy that has arisen over whether the city should spend more money to buy land in hilly areas such as the rural Diamond-Crestview neighborhood. Pollsters also used the survey to test sentiment on a variety of issues.

* In one particularly glum outcome, the number of people who said the country is “going in the right direction” dropped from 48% two years ago to 14%.

* Regarding their own city, 46% said Laguna Beach is on the right track while 47% said they have a favorable view of their City Council.

* The environmental group Laguna Greenbelt won the heartiest endorsement of those mentioned, with 74% of those questioned saying they have a favorable opinion of that organization.

On Wednesday, city officials grappled with how to interpret the results.

“I don’t want to make any assumptions about where we go with this; we’re not pollster experts,” City Manager Kenneth C. Frank said. “The results speak for themselves. People could interpret them positively or they can interpret them negatively.”

City Councilwoman Lida Lenney said she was encouraged by a section of the poll which revealed that the top three concerns of residents are ocean water quality, preservation of the environment and public education.

“Eighty-two percent of these people consider themselves environmentalists, and that cuts across all political philosophies and age groups,” said Lenney, who helped lead the drive to buy the canyon land. “I thought to myself, ‘This is the city I love.’ ”

The survey was conducted by J. Moore Methods and cost $13,000. The Sacramento-based pollster is the same firm that accurately predicted via a July, 1990, poll that almost 80% of Laguna Beach voters would support a $20-million bond issue to keep a housing tract from being built in Laguna Canyon.

The current survey named several specific tracts of land in the city as possible candidates for acquisition, including 20 acres in the Diamond-Crestview area near Arch Beach Heights. Diamond-Crestview has received considerable attention in recent years because a state Court of Appeal ordered the city to put new roads in the rustic community, a move that could eventually triple the area’s population by allowing the construction of up to 160 more homes.

Also mentioned in the survey were: 37 acres in North Laguna above Pinecrest and Allview Terrace; 40 acres inland from Canyon Acres Drive; nine acres below the Temple Hills and Top of the World neighborhoods; and 50 acres in the hills above South Laguna known as the Binion property.

In response to the specific question of whether they would pay $125 more in property taxes annually to support a 20-year $20-million bond issue to buy the properties to preserve as open space, 57% of the respondents answered yes.

However, without the support for a bond measure, council members were divided about whether it would be reasonable to pursue other funding measures to buy the land.

“I think (the poll) shows it would not be wise to put a bond issue on the ballot at this time, which we probably intuitively already knew because of the economy,” Councilwoman Ann Christoph said. “But that doesn’t mean we should stop looking into what we should do.” But Fitzpatrick said it is unlikely that the city will be able to find ways to raise money to make such purchases without a bond approval or formation of an assessment district. The idea of forming a city-wide assessment district was supported by only 28% of those questioned. The timing may be wrong for such land purchases, he said, considering the bleak economic forecast predicted for the city in coming years and the fact that a final $33-million balloon payment is due in 1995 on the Laguna Canyon parcel.

“We’re going to look pretty ragged by the end of this year,” he said. “With the combination of the budget crunch and the year five canyon payment, there’s nothing there. I’d like to believe in the tooth fairy, but I don’t want to do my financial planning based on that.”

Looking for Land Among Laguna Beach residents who say they would be willing to pay more to buy land for open space, most say they would be willing to increase their tax load by more than $50 per year. When asked how to raise money to acquire five specific pieces of land for open space, a majority supported development fees and increased property taxes. Four of the five issues they are most likely to say are very important are outdoor/environmental questions. How much would you be willing to pay each year in higher taxes to purchase properties to preserve as open space? Not willing to pay more: 37% Less than $50: 6% $50-$150: 17% More than $150: 22% Don’t know: 19% Note: Total adds to more than 100% due to rounding Open Space Acquisition Various scenarios were presented as ways to raise money to acquire several specific plots of land within the city. Here are the five ideas that got the most support: Open space fee for all new development: % saying they support idea: 58% Increased property taxes % saying they support idea: 53% Increased hotel/motel “bed tax” % saying they support idea: 47% New assessment district for those nearby % saying they support idea: 43% Transfer tax on real estate sales % saying they support idea: 38% Most Important Issues Ocean water quality tops the list of issues called “very important,” so described by nine out of 10 respondents. Here are the top five concerns: Ocean water quality % saying they support idea: 91% Preserving the environment % saying they support idea: 82% Public education % saying they support idea: 78% Preserving open space % saying they support idea: 73% Preserving the hillsides % saying they support idea: 72% Source: City of Laguna Beach survey by J. Moore Methods