Litigation Needed as a Final Step

With respect to your Sept. 15 editorial regarding the Laguna Beach View Preservation Ordinance, I want to thank you for your kind words of support.

You cautioned the City Council to create an ordinance which encourages informal solutions and does not immediately result in litigation. You will be happy to note that the proposed ordinance provides relief through a sequence of remedies which begin with informal processes.

First, neighbors would be required to meet and discuss the issues. If that meeting does not resolve the problem, mediation would be the next step. If mediation is not successful, nonbinding arbitration would be next. Finally, and only after completing each of the prior three steps, litigation between the parties would be available.

Although I firmly believe that informal remedies are best, I just as firmly believe that litigation is necessary as a final step if the parties cannot otherwise agree. Without litigation lurking on the horizon, some residents and property owners might not have sufficient incentive to resolve problems with neighbors through a less formal process. Thus, the ordinance would simply have no impact on many of the most extreme situations. The possibility of litigation provides the necessary “teeth” the ordinance needs in order to be effective.

The proposed ordinance is an effort to balance the competing needs and concerns of the community. By providing remedies which begin in an informal manner, but ultimately can lead to litigation, I am hopeful that the appropriate balance has been struck.

STEVEN M. DICTEROW

City Council member

Laguna Beach