Laguna Recall Leaders Claim Officials Are Harassing Them

The city of Laguna Beach has served a search warrant for suspected building code violations on the private property of a local couple who helped organize an unsuccessful drive to recall the mayor and two City Council members.

Barbara and Paul Westbrook, who operate a studio for local artists on 1 1/2 acres of property off Laguna Canyon Road, claim that the search warrant came in retaliation for their leadership in the recall effort, which failed Aug. 5 for lack of signatures.

But city officials, including one city councilman targeted for ouster, denied that city enforcement efforts over the Westbrooks’ property are related to the recall effort.

The warrant, issued Aug. 18 by South Orange County Municipal Judge Arthur G. Koelle, was served Monday. City building inspectors are scheduled this afternoon to inspect the property and determine whether the Westbrooks are violating their zoning designation by having four residences there.

Zoning Contentions

The Westbrooks maintain that the residences are allowed under the land’s light manufacturing zoning designation. But city officials say the land actually is zoned for commercial use, and, as such, cannot have any residential units on it.

Barbara Westbrook, 53, who along with her 67-year-old husband are retired opera singers, said that city officials also objected when the couple filed suit in Orange County Superior Court asking that the names of Laguna Beach residents who signed the petition be sealed. The Westbrooks said that was necessary so that the names won’t fall into the hands of city officials seeking reprisals. An Oct. 5 hearing date is set on that suit.

“This is their way to get to us,� Barbara Westbrook said Tuesday of the search warrant. “A police state has arrived in Laguna Beach.�

Joel Rasmusson, chairman of the Committee to Recall the City Council, said other recall organizers besides the Westbrooks also have been targeted for harassment by city officials.

Recall leaders Jack Hansen and Cayenne Bird were sued for misdemeanor code violations by the city after flouting a new law that prohibited outdoor displays of business merchandise--the issue that triggered the recall drive by local business owners, Rasmusson said.

Hansen is appealing his conviction of the misdemeanor after a trial in South Orange County Municipal Court. Bird’s case is set for trial today in the same court.

“I’m sure when they dispense with her, they’ll be knocking on my door,� predicted Rasmusson, who also ignores the display ordinance by keeping samples of his merchandise outside his furniture shop.

The council’s decision in February not to allow outdoor displays of merchandise touched off the drive to recall Mayor Dan Kenney and council members Robert F. Gentry and Lida Campbell Lenney.

The recall committee failed, however, to gather the necessary 2,997 signatures--or 20% of the city’s registered voters. The committee gathered about 2,300 valid signatures.

The committee has since concentrated its efforts on defeating Councilman Neil G. Fitzpatrick, who is up for reelection in November. Fitzpatrick voted in favor of the outdoor display ban along with Kenney, Lenney and Gentry, who do not face reelection this year. Councilwoman Martha Collison cast the lone dissenting vote.

City Manager Kenneth C. Frank--whom the recall committee has advocated firing--denied the harassment claims and called Westbrook “a liar.�

Frank insisted that the search warrant has nothing to do with the couple’s role in the recall drive but was necessary because the couple have refused to let city inspectors on their property to see if they are complying with city regulations.

He added that the criminal complaints against Hansen and Bird were filed only after the city had no other recourse. Frank noted that Hansen and Bird were the only Laguna Beach business owners who continued to violate the outdoor display ordinance after its passage.

“Retaliation is the last thing in the world we want,� Frank said. “We have dozens of building code cases and very, very few go to trial. Almost all are resolved before trial.�

Kenney and Lenney could not be reached for comment Tuesday. But Gentry, too, denied that the city’s actions have been retaliatory. He said he and other city officials have tried to ensure that the Westbrooks, along with others, were being treated fairly.

“I indicated to Frank . . . to make sure we would not be doing anything different in this (Westbrook) case than if a councilman had the same dynamics going on (with) their property,� Gentry said.

Even if that were true, Rasmusson said the timing of the search warrant looks bad.

Perception of ‘Retaliation’

“In my opinion, I can’t imagine that there is anything so dangerous out there that they would take this action in this manner,� Rasmusson said. “I mentioned what was happening to several people around town and they said, ‘Sounds like retaliation to me.’ And that’s the way it’s being perceived.�

Rasmusson added that many people were afraid to sign the recall petition because they had to continue doing business in Laguna Beach.

“The city always claims there’s no bias in anything they do,� he said. “But you mess with them, and they make your life difficult.�

According to the city manager, the dispute with the Westbrooks began several months ago when a city inspector visited the property and discovered that there were no paved parking spaces, in accordance with city regulations for commercial businesses.

The Westbrooks claim that they don’t need the paved parking because they are not a commercial business.

The city also had reason to believe that “some illegal construction� was going on at the property, Frank said.

“We sent her (Barbara Westbrook) a letter and said we believe there are some zoning violations. She did not respond,� Frank said.

The city filed a misdemeanor code-violation complaint against the couple after not hearing from them, he said. But the complaint was dropped after the Westbrooks agreed to allow inspectors onto the property and resolve whatever problems they had.

Soon after, Frank said the Westbrooks reneged on the inspection agreement. “They absolutely refused to (allow an inspection). We gave them plenty of time. So we are forced to get the inspection warrant.�

‘Looking for Zoning Violations

Frank said the building inspectors will be “looking for zoning violations,� although he would not elaborate.

The warrant, however, states that the city wants to determine “the extent of illegal conversion of property from commercial to residential use.�

The Westbrooks insist that their property is really zoned for light manufacturing and not for commercial enterprises. “Nothing here is commercial,� Barbara Westbrook declared.

She said the six artists who work on the property sell their works elsewhere. Three of the artists also live on the property, along with the Westbrooks, but she claimed that that was not a violation of zoning laws.

Under light manufacturing zoning, one residence is allowed for each parcel of land, Paul Westbrook said, adding that they have one residence for each of their four parcels of land.

However, Frank said the land actually is zoned for commercial businesses.