2020 in review: Top stories of the year in Laguna Beach
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In a year when most decisions have been shaped in one form or another by the coronavirus pandemic, Laguna Beach felt the impact in multiple ways.
Beach and school closures, cancellations and modifications of arts programs and annual festivals and changes to restaurant dining are just some of the issues the city grappled with.
Here are some of the top stories in Laguna Beach for 2020:
The Promenade on Forest
A long list of restrictions were put in place to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus in 2020. When outdoor dining was permitted, Laguna Beach introduced the Promenade on Forest, allowing for the businesses downtown to continue to operate with modifications.
Set up to accommodate walking traffic, the Promenade on Forest offered outdoor dining, art displays and retail options.
The Promenade on Forest was such a success that the Laguna Beach City Council extended it through January, and there has been discussion about making it a permanent fixture in the city.
Beach closures
To promote social distancing, Laguna Beach became the first Orange County city to close its beaches and trailheads in March. When the beaches were reopened, there were new protocols put in place, such as having the beach open for limited hours and for active use only.
The Fourth of July had a much different look and feel this year, with many cities curtailing their celebratory festivities. Laguna Beach canceled its Independence Day fireworks show, and it also closed its beaches for the holiday weekend.
Laguna Art Museum’s Art and Nature
The sky did not have to be a forget-me-not blue for the residents and visitors of Laguna Beach to remember how special it was to take in Patrick Shearn’s Skynet artwork “Sunset Trace.” The outdoor installation, which was displayed over Heisler Park, allowed people to interact with art during their outdoor recreation.
Laguna Art Museum introduced new galleries, such as “Granville Redmond: The Eloquent Palette,” which could be enjoyed virtually or in-person during limited periods when shutdowns were not in place. This was also the case with “Art and Nature.”
“Art and Nature” was the brainchild of Malcolm Warner, who announced his plan to retire at the end of the year as the executive director of the museum. Warner had held the position since 2012 and introduced Art and Nature as an annual event the following year.
Community rallies to raise funds for the arts
Although the ability to enjoy theater and museums has been limited because of the pandemic, the community stepped up to support its favorite art institutions during a host of virtual galas.
Laguna Art Museum brought in close to $350,000 through its virtual gala, Laguna Playhouse raised more than $320,000 with a similar online effort and the Festival of Arts had more than $300,000 in funds raised.
The Sawdust Art Festival took place as an outdoor marketplace with modifications, allowing for local artists to put their work on display for the public to interact with and purchase with social distancing in place.
Whalen stays, Weiss added to council
There were two seats up for grabs on the Laguna Beach City Council, and Mayor Bob Whalen was able to secure a third term and another four years on the dais. The council subsequently voted to have Whalen serve a third consecutive term as mayor.
George Weiss won the other seat, as Steve Dicterow left the council after a combined 20 years over two separate stints of serving on the five-person governing body.
The city had two voting centers — the Laguna Beach Community and Susi Q Center and Lang Park — although lines at the polls were not what they might have been in other elections due to mail-in ballots.
Village Entrance project
Laguna Beach completed a project that had spanned three decades in May with the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Village Entrance.
The $11.3-million construction project focused on enhancing safety for pedestrians and bicyclists and improving traffic flow along Laguna Canyon Road between Forest Avenue and the festival district.
It took two years to complete the construction phase of the project, and it is aesthetically pleasing with the inclusion of 75 new trees and 3,250 shrubs. The project also included the installation of paved access roads, bicycle racks and decorative fencing.
Laguna Beach historic preservation ordinance
The adoption of a new historic preservation ordinance was a divisive development issue in the city, as conservationists quibbled with the provision of owner consent for properties to remain on the local historic register.
A property would not be considered as eligible to be listed on the city’s historic register without owner consent.
Some raised concerns that the addition of the provision would allow for the destruction of the town’s history while others pointed to the prohibitive costs of maintaining a historic property and current city processes.
Revisions in the ordinance included use of state codes as opposed to the local historic rating system, as well as simultaneous review of applications for the historic register and incentives.
A property is now classified as a historic resource if it is on the city, state or national historic registers.
The State Historical Resource Commission can deem a property or structure eligible for the state register, and the National Parks Service can make that determination for the national register. The city can also be required to acknowledge a historic resource based on substantial evidence.
School in the time of the coronavirus pandemic
The pandemic ushered in distance learning, but concerns over the quality of education and the social-emotional health of children led to a push to return to in-classroom learning.
Hybrid learning went into effect for the Laguna Beach Unified School District’s two elementary schools — El Morro and Top of the World — on Oct. 5.
Frustrated secondary school parents held a protest at Main Beach to have Thurston Middle School and Laguna Beach High School students return to campus, and the subject has come up frequently during the public comment portion of school board meetings.
Police Chief Laura Farinella retires
Laura Farinella, Laguna Beach’s first female chief of police, called it a career after 31 years in law enforcement and more than five years as the top cop in the city.
Under her leadership, the city saw record-low crime rates in 2018 and 2019, and the police department added beach patrol officers and a school resource officer program.
Robert Thompson, who headed the police department in Dixon, has been selected as Farinella’s successor. Thompson’s expected start date is Jan. 18.
Purchase of helicopter refilling tank
Laguna Beach made strides to address wildfire safety and mitigation by acquiring a helicopter refilling tank called a HeloPod dip tank.
It was placed along the fire road, where a demonstration was held in November to show the turnaround time from refilling to making a drop over the adjacent canyon.
Laguna Beach Fire Chief Mike Garcia said that the helicopter refilling tank can be an aid in fighting wildfires because it provides a “force multiplier” in terms of the number of water drops that can be performed.
The City Council has also directed staff to continue looking for another location that would be suitable for putting in another helicopter refilling tank.
Staff writer Lilly Nguyen contributed to this story.
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