In Reversal, Laguna Beach Delays Flood Project

Reversing a previous decision, the Laguna Beach City Council voted this week to put off a $10-million flood-control project for another year because utility lines cannot be moved in time for the digging.

Widening of the underground channel was supposed to start in September. But public works engineers told the council Tuesday that sewer, cable and telephone lines cannot be moved before the busy summer tourist season, when work would have to be suspended. They suggested relocating the lines beginning in September and starting the project itself in September 2003.

“It’s the only thing that’s practical,” City Manager Kenneth C. Frank said Wednesday.

The project has been plagued by delays since its inception nearly 10 years ago.

The council voted in November to move forward despite requests by city staffers that they be given more time to work out the logistics and inform residents about the plumes of toxins that had pooled beneath the construction site.

But at that time, council members argued they could not afford more postponements. They expressed concerns about losing $8.6 million in county and federal funds and said lives and livelihoods would be at stake if the channel is not widened before the next flood season.