Panel Delays Vote on ‘Right to a View’

After hours of public comment and discussion, the Laguna Beach Planning Commission late Wednesday delayed approval of a controversial ordinance that would guarantee a homeowners’ right to a view.

In making their decision, the commissioners said they needed to revise some language in the proposed ordinance and better define terms such as “view equity” before voting on the matter.

The five-member panel also wanted more time to consider the Design Review Board’s role in the ordinance’s proposed mediation process.

The commission is expected to make a final decision on the amended ordinance at its March 26 meeting.

“The ordinance is trying to get people to communicate better,” Commissioner Norman Grossman said.

The hotly contested view preservation issue has pitted property rights advocates against environmentalists for more than two years, with one side complaining that property values drop when trees or other vegetation are allowed to block a homeowner’s view, and the other worrying that some residents will simply chop down their trees rather than do battle with an irate neighbor.

If approved by the commission and eventually adopted by the City Council, Laguna Beach would be the first city in Orange County with an ordinance that recognizes residents’ right to a view unobstructed by trees or vegetation on another’s property.

“No one is asking to get rid of the trees. I love the trees,” resident and view proponent Carmel West told the commission. “We just want the trees to be taken care of.”