City manager speaks frankly

Barbara Diamond

A complex planned for city property on Third Street probably won’t be

built as proposed because of changes prompted by concerns about the

appearance and the costs.

“The original project was not realistic, and we are talking about

ways to modify it so we can do it,” said City Manager Ken Frank,

guest speaker Monday at the Village Laguna meeting.

Comments on the draft environmental report for the project are

being reviewed and responses prepared. The proposal, plus

alternatives, effects and funding sources will be reviewed by the

City Council in January and will go to the Planning Commission in

January or February.

Certification of the report does not mean an approval of the

project.

The proposed complex would be at the base of the Third Street

Hill, stretching from Mermaid Street to the Laguna Beach County Water

District property. As proposed, the project consists of a two-story,

14,000 square-foot senior center; a single-story, 11,000 square-foot

community center; redevelopment of the Laguna Beach Community Clinic

to increase its size to 12,000 square feet; and public and private

parking garages under all three structures.

Neighbors of the project have concerns.

“The project is just too big for the site,” said Ed Barbieri,

president of the Downtown Neighborhood Assn.

The major concern is the increase in traffic. It will adversely

affect surrounding streets and cannot be mitigated to an

insignificant level, according to the environmental report

A reduction in the size of the project won’t eliminate the problem

if the number of people using the facilities stays the same.

The additional right-hand lane along the front of the project will

get cars off of one side of Third Street, but it won’t alleviate the

problem of left turns, a concern raised by Jan Barbieri. A vehicle

waiting to make a left turn could halt traffic from North Laguna and

Laguna Canyon clear back to the stoplight at Broadway and Forest

Avenue or beyond.

“That’s a legitimate concern, and we haven’t addressed it,” Frank

said.

Traffic problems generated the most questions in the comments

received on the environmental report and must be dealt with, Frank

said.

“Decision-makers must take issues raised in the EIR into

consideration,” he said.

Alternative projects must also be considered, including a

“no-project” option.

Neighbors’ comments included concerns about the inclusion of the

project in the Civic Arts District.

“It’s too institutional,” said Barbara Hoag, a Loma Terrace

property owner.

Frank agreed. The architects took elements from surrounding

buildings downtown, he said. The arches designed for the facade of

the Senior Center reflect the arches at Water District offices down

the street and at City Hall.

“There is a fair amount of stucco and a fair amount of hardscape,”

Frank said “It needs to be softened.”

Project architects will have time to change the design.

“If everything went well and someone dropped a million dollars on

us, there still would be no construction for two years,” Frank said.

The council will hold at least one, and probably two meetings

before the project goes to the Planning Commission for design review.

-- the commission, not the Design Review Board, oversees projects

Downtown. Then the project will come back to the council.

All three members of the council eligible to vote on the project

have indicated support. Councilman Wayne Baglin and Councilwoman

Cheryl Kinsman own property within 500 feet of the project and are

barred by state law from voting on it.

Funding for the project is problematic. The city paid for the lots

to be used for the senior and community centers and appropriated $5

million for the project, some of which has been spent.

“The goal was that the seniors would raise [another] $5 million,

but I don’t know if that is practical,” Frank said. “Right now, there

is a $4 million gap. I think the city will have to contribute to the

senior center, and I think we should.”

Some private donations to Seniors Inc. for the project have been

rescinded.

“I will withdraw my donation if there is no card room,” member Kay

Whitaker said.

Reducing the size of the center is one of the alternatives that

will be presented to the City Council in January.

No matter what, Frank does not expect the project to be supported

by everyone.

“In all my years here, I have never found a project yet that

pleased all the neighbors,” Frank said.

If consensus were the measure, Moulton Meadows, Alta Laguna Park

and affordable housing at 450 Glenneyre St. would never have made it

off the drawing board, he said.