Festival of Arts Deal Is ‘Close’

After nearly six years of negotiations, Laguna Beach officials and directors of the Festival of Arts are poised to announce a new lease agreement today that would keep the signature event in the city for at least the next 40 years and include a $7-million face-lift for the compound.

The City Council plans a closed session before its regular meeting tonight to clarify the terms of an outstanding accounting issue that, according to both sides, is minor. After the closed session, festival directors and council members plan to announce the deal.

“It’s very, very close,” said Robert Dietrich, a treasurer for the festival’s board of directors who has been part of the negotiations for the past year.

“It’s a very good deal for the city and the festival and the citizens of Laguna Beach, and hopefully, our patrons throughout Southern California,” he said.

Laguna Beach has hosted the eight-week exhibition of more than 150 regional artists since 1932.

The city began negotiating a new lease in 1996 with a previous set of festival directors who were recalled two years ago after they threatened to move the event to San Clemente.

The new board ran into its own share of frustrations with the city, but the two sides have met on a regular basis since last year and have shown a commitment to resolving their differences.

Talks intensified in the past few weeks, as Councilmen Steve Dicterow and Paul Freeman took over negotiations for the city. Neither could be reached for comment.

“I think it brought in a fresh look at one of the issues,” Dietrich said, alluding to the accounting issue “that they found a pretty simple solution for.”

Once the agreement is signed, the festival plans to break ground by September on the first phase of a capital improvement project, pending approval by the Planning Commission.

Initial projects will cost about $1.8 million and include upgrades to the administration building and the storm-drain system, with most of the money going toward renovation of the 60-year-old workshops and classrooms used for the Pageant of the Masters show that runs in tandem with the festival.

Another $5 million has been earmarked for a new facade at the entrance and a new exhibit area, as well as an assortment of refurbishment projects at the Irvine Bowl amphitheater, including an improved sound system, expanded seating and upgrades to the orchestra pit and backstage.

“Once we get the lease done it’s really time to get down to work,” Dietrich said. “You take a deep breath and get ready for the real work to begin.”