Art museum’s plan to float streetlight off Laguna Beach remains in drydock for now
Laguna Art Museum officials’ plan to install a floating streetlight off Main Beach has run aground as the museum announced it would not be ready in time for this weekend’s Art & Nature festival.
In consultation with state resource agencies, the California Coastal Commission directed the museum to cancel the proposed temporary installation, titled “Seascape,” while environmental concerns and issues are addressed, museum officials said.
“As you can imagine, we were in unfamiliar regulatory territory with this particular piece,” Malcolm Warner, the museum’s executive director, said in a statement Friday. “The museum will continue to work with the Coastal Commission and the relevant agencies in Sacramento in the hope that there will be a future opportunity to display ‘Seascape.’”
The city’s Community Development Director Greg Pfost said that the city received calls from the California Ocean Protection Council, State Lands Commission and California Fish and Game Commission.
Those agencies were concerned that because the streetlight was to float in a marine protected area, it could affect the environment and sea life, Pfost said.
A call and email to the Coastal Commission seeking further details were not immediately returned Friday.
“Seascape,” created by artist Pablo Vargas Lugo, was scheduled to be one of the attractions of the fifth annual Art & Nature festival, which includes special exhibitions, lectures, panel discussions, films and family activities.
The other programs and events will remain on schedule, museum officials said. The festival ends Sunday.
Museum officials postponed installing “Seascape” on Thursday after engineers with the Newport Beach firm Morrelli & Melvin Design and Engineering Inc. said it would be unsafe to lift the streetlight into a vertical position without help from a crane.
The streetlight, made of fiberglass and foam, is attached to a buoy, which contains a 400-pound ballast. It was scheduled to be in place through Nov. 16 about 200 yards offshore.
Pfost told the Pilot on Wednesday the proposed installation satisfied the Coastal Commission, which granted “Seascape” a temporary event permit.
He said Friday that he will continue working with the state agencies to address their concerns and hopes to install the piece at a later date.
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