Laguna Beach Council Studies Fire-Cleanup Program

As recovery from the October, 1993, firestorm continues, the City Council on Tuesday will consider a comprehensive cleanup program to clear the remaining debris from burned lots that are still vacant.

“It’s become an increasingly important matter aesthetically and from a public-safety point of view because we now have more and more people moving back into the neighborhoods,” community development director Kyle Butterwick said Thursday.

The fire destroyed 285 homes within the city limits, and 210 people have submitted applications to rebuild. So far, 145 building permits have been issued, and 50 families are already living in their new homes.

Another 75 families, however, have not applied for building permits, and Butterwick said that “a substantial number” of those lots pose either a potential safety hazard or are a visual blight.

“Many of these fire-damaged lots still have construction remnants and debris,” he said. “We have swimming pools that are still empty and have not been filled, standing chimneys and block from concrete walls. . . . What we’re trying to do is get the properties safe and secured and cleaned up.”

The council will consider a cleanup plan that calls for the lots to be cleared of virtually everything except the slab, Butterwick said.

If the council approves the proposal, the property owners will have 90 days to do the work. If they don’t, city crews will clear the lots at the owners’ expense, Butterwick said.

Property owners were advised earlier that the lots had to be cleared, but some didn’t respond, Butterwick said, prompting the cleanup proposal.