LAGUNA BEACH : Judicial Panel Backs Aesthetic Reviews Law

A panel of judges has sided with the city in a lawsuit filed by a couple who were barred from moving into their new home because it was painted too white.

Nick and Denise Karagozian filed the $1-million lawsuit after the city of Laguna Beach in 1990 refused to allow utilities to be connected because the exterior of the house was painted a color other than those approved by the city’s Design Review Board.

A federal judge dismissed the lawsuit last year, and the couple appealed that decision.

A three-judge panel from the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld the earlier ruling, however, the city attorney’s office said.

Among other things, the ruling says that the municipal ordinance allowing the city to review the aesthetics of proposed development “falls comfortably within the scope of permissible land use regulations.”

Deputy City Atty. Hans Van Ligten on Monday applauded the decision.

“This says we’re well within what the law allows us to do,” Van Ligten said. “The city’s design review ordinance has been the subject of a lot of litigation over the years. This is one of the highest courts in the country saying it’s fine.”

Eugene C. Gratz, the Karagozians’ attorney, said he was “deeply disappointed”’ by the decision. He said he does not know if the couple will accept the ruling, ask for a rehearing from the appeals court or take the case to the next level: the U.S. Supreme Court.

When the Karagozians’ situation became public in 1990, it created an uproar, even attracting the attention of a radio show host who broadcast one of his programs from the couple’s garage. Supporters rallied around the couple and had a protest party during which the too-white house was painted red, white and blue.

In a compromise with the city, the couple later repainted the house.