LAGUNA BEACH : Plan Commission Backs Units for AIDS Patients

The Planning Commission has unanimously endorsed a proposal to develop a 25-unit apartment complex for low-income residents infected with the AIDS virus.

The project, the first of its kind in Orange County, would be developed at the site of a former GTE building on Mermaid Street. The plan was to be reviewed Thursday night by the Design Review Board and is expected to be before the City Council for final approval Oct. 18.

In other action Wednesday night, the commission approved a plan to build a controversial 3-million-gallon water reservoir in the Top of the World community while rejecting a proposal to redevelop an oceanfront parcel that includes the old Fahrenheit 451 bookstore and two turn-of-the-century cottages.

Construction of a water tank on an environmentally sensitive knoll next to Alta Laguna Park, one of the most politically contentious issues in the city, especially after last fall’s firestorm, remained divisive Wednesday night.

The vote was 3 to 2 to approve the needed coastal development permit, with Commissioners Doug Reilly and Barbara Metzger dissenting, and 4 to 1 for the conditional use permit, with Reilly casting the opposing vote.

Following a four-year controversy over the reservoir, the City Council agreed in May to sell the property to the Laguna Beach County Water District.

The commission also voted 4 to 1 against a plan to redevelop a plot of land next door to the Hotel Laguna on Coast Highway, which includes the former Fahrenheit 451 bookstore. The artist Wyland, who painted the “Whaling Wall” mural on the property, bought the parcel earlier this year and wants to build a gallery and an artist live/work studio at the site.

Most commissioners agreed that the old buildings should be restored rather than being razed for the new construction, while Wyland’s architect, Jim Conrad, maintains that the foundations at the site are unstable and new structures would be safer.

Conrad said Thursday that Wyland has not yet decided whether to appeal the decision to the council. Commissioner Paul Freeman cast the lone vote for the redevelopment project.