To-do list for new Laguna council

With the opportunity for a new majority on the Laguna Beach City Council, it’s time to rethink the issues. No more business as usual, no more ignored studies, no more pivoting in circles.

We need to shake things up and act. This town deserves it. We’ve been iterating ourselves into mediocrity for the last 50 years.

So with that, here is a top 10 list for the City Council candidates to debate. Some new, some old, these are the issues that really matter to most Lagunans — well, at least to me.

10. Allow non-commercial fishing: There should be no reason a dad and a son can’t beach surf in designated areas. I’m not talking a fleet of crammed fishing boats pulling limits. We live at the ocean, for halibut’s sake.

9. Let real artists run the Arts Commission: It seems that the Laguna Beach Arts Commission is run mostly by bureaucrats. It shows in the outcome of our public art. Put the right people in there, and give the commission real power to shape the city’s visual and artistic legacy.

8. Mandate family restaurants: Laguna is bloated with expensive, overwrought restaurants. Meanwhile, you can count on three fingers the number of affordable family restaurants. It’s not right. In this case, I don’t care about free-market economics or arguments about high rents. I just want to feed my family once in a while at a restaurant and not go broke.

7. Install electric fences at Laguna Coast Wilderness Park: Technically a county issue, but c’mon, having park lots close at 5 p.m. is diabolical. Certainly we can afford to install some proper electronic fences that would let cars exit until, say, 9 p.m. What’s the point of hiking to see a great Laguna sunset only to have your car impounded? The city should have some influence here.

6. Widen Laguna Canyon Road: OK, I know, simmer down. I’m just suggesting strategic fixes. Somehow, someway we need to eliminate the bottlenecks. Let’s face it, heading out of town, the merge problem at Ganahl Lumber is just insane. Similarly, the transition from two lanes to one coming into town at El Toro Road is also a nightmare. No one wants to tackle this problem, but it’s a huge one — and has been for 50 years. Is the new council up to the task?

5. Bury power lines: This should have been done long, long ago. Now is the time to step up as a city. The power lines need to go. They are dangerous, lazy and, obviously, an eyesore.

4. Eliminate parking on Coast Highway downtown: Just think about this for a minute. If we completely take away street parking from, say, Legion Street to Aster Street, we solve our bike issue and pave the way for my next recommendation.

3. Close Forest Avenue to vehicle traffic: Laguna needs to become a true village, something we’ve only given lip service. We allow way too many cars downtown. Some business owners will cry about this in the short term, but long-term, they will do more business. We just need the courage to change.

2. Raise the height limit on downtown buildings: Similarly, we need to be smart about downtown sustainability. I’m not proposing high-rises. We can intelligently rezone certain properties or areas to allow for better mixed-use livability. We need to support more-affordable lofts for our artists. We need a true cultural hub of activity that balances everyone’s needs. Right now, we are not satisfying anyone, except tourists, and it’s not fair to residents.

1. Kelp flies: I like kelp as much as the next guy, but the mounds of kelp that stink up our beaches are out of control. If you’ve actually spent time on the beach, you will be bombarded by roving swarms of biting flies. It’s like some low-budget science-fiction movie.

These 10 are a start. If the new council can solve just half of them, I think a lot of residents would be happy.

If, by some miracle, council members solve all of them in the first 100 days, I have more to suggest. Things like permanent supportive housing, parking that makes sense and doesn’t punish residential streets, a tourist-specific transportation plan (forced busing), more beach amenities — I could go on.

As of this writing, seven City Council candidates are vying for three seats. Two of those seats are held by incumbents. The potential swing on this election is big.

So as I run into the candidates around town, I will be asking them about my top 10 list. I hope you show them yours, because Laguna deserves better.

DAVID HANSEN is a writer and Laguna Beach resident. He can be reached at [email protected].