Laguna Mayor Gets OK to Vote on Reservoir

LAGUNA BEACH — The state Fair Political Practices Commission has ruled that Mayor Ann Christoph may vote on a controversial reservoir proposal without violating conflict of interest codes.

Christoph, a landscape architect who was recently named mayor, had abstained from any votes involving the 3-million-gallon reservoir proposal. She had asked the commission for a ruling because in 1987 she had received a contract from the city for design work on Alta Laguna Park, which included the proposed reservoir site.

The reservoir proposal has become a focal point in the controversy over whether the city was equipped to fight the Oct. 27 wildfire that destroyed 366 homes and caused more than $400 million in damage.

The Laguna Beach County Water District has proposed building the $3.7-million reservoir on a 2.5-acre city-owned knoll next to the park. The city, however, had set the knoll aside as open space as part of an agreement to build the park.

Until recently, the council had deadlocked 2 to 2 on the reservoir proposal, forcing the water district to take the property through eminent domain court proceedings.

A council majority recently approved a compromise plan allowing the district to build the reservoir on the knoll, which is one of the highest points in the city, but water district directors rejected a key part of that plan.

Under the council’s compromise plan, the district would have been required to place the reservoir completely below ground to help preserve the environmentally sensitive knoll.

Water district directors vowed to stick to their original plan, saying any change in the elevation of the reservoir would defeat the purpose of the facility, which relies on gravity.

Although the reservoir would be buried under the district’s plan, it would create a mound about 17 feet above ground in an effort to elevate the tank and permit water to flow by gravity to virtually every home in Laguna Beach.

City Council and water district representatives met again Friday for negotiations over the dispute.

Councilman Robert F. Gentry said officials had nothing to report about the negotiations at this time, other than to say, “We are continuing to meet.”

Christoph said Friday that she must now catch up with the issues involving the reservoir, because she had usually left the room during those discussions to avoid conflict of interest.