Public complaints lead to closure of downtown business

A Forest Avenue business must close its doors after the City Council Tuesday decided to uphold a rare move by the Planning Commission to revoke the shop’s conditional use permit.

Oceane Skin Care, at 266 Forest Ave., has 90 days to vacate the space after the council unanimously voted to deny the business’ appeal.

Councilman Robert Zur Schmiede, who served 13 years on the Planning Commission before his election to the council last year, said he recalled one time when the city threatened to close a business for failure to play by the rules.

“We’re talking about conditions of land use approval that apply to everyone in the downtown specific plan area,” Zur Schmiede said. “The idea is your use permit requires conducting business within the building and not on the public sidewalk. There are plenty of alternative ways to communicate with customers other than solicitation on the sidewalk.

“It is with absolutely no joy sitting here 10 days before Christmas talking about revoking a use permit of a business. When we’re faced with, frankly, the position we heard tonight [from Oceane] is not only do we want you to reverse this, but we have no intention of trying to comply. It really doesn’t leave us a lot of maneuvering room.”

Oceane, which opened in May, sells products such as moisturizers and cleansers. The company’s attorney and partners declined to comment on the council’s decision or whether they will take legal action.

In October, the Planning Commission voted 4 to 1 to revoke Oceane’s permit on grounds the company violated its permit terms, and that activities outside the store created a public nuisance.

During Tuesday’s meeting, Sanja Simidzija, an Oceane partner and prior owner of the Art Cube Gallery that occupied the same property, said paying rising rents in Laguna the last 15 years have been a challenge.

She didn’t want Oceane to fold, thus interacting with pedestrians on the sidewalk was a way to get them in the store.

“Maybe it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but as a business owner I’m trying to do everything possible to stay in business,” Simidzija said, adding she sees members of other organizations approaching customers on sidewalks during weekends downtown.

“Someone handing you a sample should not be that bad. We should be allowed to do that.”

The city’s downtown specific plan that says, “all permitted or conditioned uses, except as otherwise authorized by the Planning Commission, shall be conducted entirely within an enclosed building.”

Noah Balch, Oceane’s attorney, said Oceane was unfairly singled out for the activity and added the commission’s decision to revoke the permit violated free speech rights.

“Just because someone is soliciting, that doesn’t mean it is dangerous,” Balch said. “They are trying to interact with the community and build rapport with the community.”

In a letter to the city, Balch added that “any solicitation on public streets is permissible as long as sales take place in the store. It is undisputed that all sales take place inside Oceane and any interaction with customers outside is undertaken with intent to bring them into the store.”

Within two months of opening, the city fielded complaints from pedestrians about Oceane employees handing product samples and trying to woo people inside the shop, according to a staff report.

Code enforcement corroborated the public’s claims, and cited Oceane six times, including four after a July meeting between city staff and Oceane representatives.

The two sides brainstormed ways to address complaints and City Atty. Phil Kohn told owners they risked losing their permit if the activities outside the store continued, according to a staff report.