Always remember, park is a four-letter word in Laguna Beach.
Parking, parklet, parking structure.
So it’s not surprising that at the recent City Council meeting, opponents of the word park would have preferred to litter their testimony with another four-letter word.
Such is Laguna’s way. Anti-park people like to mention every parking controversy going back to the 1930s as proof that Laguna doesn’t like any derivative of park.
The latest is the parking structure in the works at the Village Entrance. The council doled out about $700,000 for the start of a new, nifty design to consultants DLR Group. And if Tuesday’s citizen input (from a handful of regulars) was any indication, it’s going to be a slog.
Thankfully, there appears to be enough pro-park momentum that Laguna may, cross fingers, actually get something cool built at the Village Entrance, instead of a few existing skinny trees and a meandering walkway that no one really uses.
Yes, cool. Why? Because what the creative team at DLR has already brainstormed is more than parking. Think of it as an attractive civic center replete with an amphitheater, useful spaces, art, music and a new fire station.
Oh, and the useless sewer tower will still be there.
It’s all very exciting. Councilmember Alex Rounaghi is pumped. He pushed for having the parking structure plan jibe with the city’s facilities master plan, which means this thing is going to be huge but coordinated. The left hand will know what the right hand is doing.
OK, so how is all of this going to be funded? Well, that’s a good question. Mayor Bob Whalen, using his finely honed fatherly confidence, believes there’s a way that relies on public-private partnerships. Essentially, coerce all the deep pockets in town to pony up, starting with the cash cow that is the Festival of Arts/Pageant of the Masters. They will, after all, be the ones benefitting the most from the parking.
But who cares about the details at this point when there’s an artist’s rendering!
There are three visions, actually, in the DLR proposal. All recognize that the location is important with the large hill as the backdrop and the front-facing impact to the town. If done right, it truly will be a legitimate Village Entrance.
The vote wasn’t unanimous, of course. Councilmember George Weiss, in a way that only he can, made it clear that he thinks the existing site is fine. So the vote was 4-1.
While there was some citizen opposition, there was also support. Influential business leader Joe Hanauer said the time is right.
“We made a mistake not designing it several years ago, so let’s approach it properly this time,” he said. “Let’s move forward with the design work.”
Despite this big first step, there will be many others – so gear up, hydrate and get ready for some mother-loving park.
