On July 14 the City Council will decide whether to adopt a revised Historic Preservation Ordinance and General Plan amendments that would remove preservation protections from hundreds of Laguna Beach historic buildings. 
 
The loss of these buildings would be irreparable.  They tell the Laguna Beach stories:  artists who guided the town's building design; families who built their cottages over years of weekends; early residents who, returning from WWI, were inspired by villages in France to build quaint landmarks like the Lumberyard restaurant; or those who echoed the familiar Mediterranean revivals in masterpieces like the Water District headquarters, or of the endless summer when surfing culture adapted the cottages to a later era of beach life; and the unique stories of each of our relationships with Laguna.  Historic preservation is key to keeping these stories and the Laguna character we love alive.
 
Laguna Beach has had a historic preservation program since 1981, when an inventory identified 776 historic resources.  At one time city staff made decisions about demolition or modifications to historic properties without requiring historical review.  Some owners voluntarily put their properties on the historic register, but nearly 100 of the inventoried historical properties were significantly modified or demolished from 1981 to 2014.
 
Staff thought the City couldn’t prevent inappropriate modifications or demolitions of historic properties.  But then the City discovered very late (2005) that they should have been evaluating impacts and examining alternatives to proposed incompatible modifications or demolitions as required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
 
Trying to remedy this has caused much confusion and frustration for owners of the historic properties, as well as for community members who value preserving Laguna’s heritage.  The City’s attempts to incorporate CEQA into the Laguna Beach process during a series of meetings from 2014 until now have been unsuccessful.  The pressure for a “voluntary” ordinance has been intense. This would allow property owners to decide for themselves if their property is historic or not.  This approach is not only illogical, it doesn’t comply with state law (CEQA) which relies on an objective standard for determining a historic resource. 
 
We will see many historic resources incompatibly altered or demolished if the “voluntary” ordinance is adopted.  Loss of these properties would irreparably damage the historic character, unique aesthetics and charm of Laguna Beach.
 
Please write to the City Council to urge them not to adopt the amended Historic Preservation Ordinance and other documents at citycouncil@lagunabeachcity.net. Urge them to reject the Negative Declaration that says the change to the ordinance will have no effect on the environment. 
 
Alternative suggestions:  The existing ordinance and process should be improved.  Clarify and streamline the identification, review, and permitting process and improve benefits for preservation; hire a preservation planner to encourage and guide owners of historic properties; minimize expensive reports; facilitate Mills Act applications (historic register properties are eligible for a property tax reduction); develop more incentives that encourage owners and protect the historic property.
 
Be sure to ask that your email be included in the administrative record and cc the City Clerk lchel@lagunabeachcity.net. Please contact them as soon as possible, but at least by July 13. Please also phone in to the meeting or join by Zoom; instructions for how to do this are on the Council agenda, available on the City’s website lagunabeachcity.net

You can read a summary of the objections of the Laguna Beach Historic Preservation Coalition to the amended Ordinance and General Plan and the Negative Declaration here. The full comments are here. Please send questions to the Laguna Beach Historic Preservation Coalition at lagunabeachhpc@gmail.com.
 
Thank you for helping keep Laguna unique.