MAILBAG: ‘We the people’ should have voice in city

Outside of our City Hall is a work of public art. It consists of sculptures arranged in a circle and includes a stone-like bench on which are inscribed the words: “The People’s Council.�� This means our elected body that deliberates on Tuesday nights twice a month is not the special interests’ council, not the developers’ council, but the council of the voters and those too young to vote. These are the majority stakeholders in Laguna Beach’s future.

In our turbulent times Laguna Beach is experiencing many of the same travails that beset other seaboard cities. Our beaches require attention in the face of sewage spills and urban run-off. Our coastal canyons are being transformed into ever more dense human habitats that little resemble the wild, pristine outlets to the sea at which earlier generations of Lagunans marveled.

The farsighted and little-implemented Vision Laguna 2030 Report anticipated some of these challenges. What is particularly noteworthy about that document is that it was the work of the people “� 2,000 people who cared a lot about Laguna’s future. Their report is premised on the fundamental American principle that the people “� not the rich special interests, not the developers “� have the ultimate power in our city. Those words, “The People’s Council,�� inscribed on that small granite-hard bench near City Hall, remind us of this enduring principle. Our nation’s founders proclaimed this, even if their actions were at times inconsistent with it, writing a Constitution that begins with the words, “We the People��

So when we participate in the Aliso Canyon “walkabout�� from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday, let’s remember we’re not just potential customers in search of the amenities being offered by a business. Far more importantly we’re citizens with legitimate and powerful voices for an exquisite canyon-watershed that cannot speak for itself. “The People’s Council�� must hear what we have to say.

And at a later date when Laguna Beach’s Climate Protection Action Plan is agendized for deliberation, let us fill the chamber and speak to what is arguably the most critical issue facing the planet. Our city has a role to play in these decisions. “The People’s Council�� needs to hear the voices of “We the people.��

TOM OSBORNE

Laguna Beach

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Thinking outside the box on Aliso Canyon

Let’s all go to the Aliso Creek Canyon walk-a-round Saturday. The city has arranged with the Athens Group an open house we all should take advantage of.

By 2 p.m., there will be no golf balls to dodge, and we can walk around the property enjoying the Aliso Creek and the glorious steep and lush canyon. It is quite a spot. There will be future meetings asking for public input. This is a way to obtain information on which to formulate the public’s opinions.

My understanding is that when Laguna Beach was a fraction of the size of Aliso City (now Lake Forest) and the Irvine Ranch armed guards discouraged the use of Laguna Canyon Road, Aliso Canyon was the main route into Laguna Beach/Arch Beach. The stage from Aliso City was the one met by Laguna’s first greeter, old Joe Lucas.

Aliso Canyon is also the site of the first homestead in Laguna Beach. Eugene Salter made his claim in 1870, but abandoned it two years later. It was later taken over by George Thurston. Many Laguna Beach homesteaders “proved up�� their land by planting eucalyptus trees. As you walk about Aliso Canyon, you can walk by the YMCA-Girls Scout Camp Elizabeth Dolph historic homestead eucalyptus grove. It is still there!

I am encouraging the Athens Group to think outside the box and eliminate the golf course and restore the creek which would allow a very special natural setting.

Improvements to the Aliso Creek Inn will take money, so it may be fortuitous that the property is now owned by the Montage Resort’s Athens Group. Improvements should include refurbishing buildings and facilities, reducing the use of energy, and improving the water quality of Aliso Creek.

As you walk around Aliso Creek, consider lobbying the City Council and the Athens Group to think outside the box and have the redevelopment be:

?Focused on the beauty and tranquillity of a natural Aliso Creek;

?Lodging, meeting rooms and walking trails;

?No residential development;

?For viewing migratory birds; and

?Preserving of the historic homestead eucalyptus grove.

This approach would differentiate the project likely to make more money for the Athens Group, serving investors and the community.

GENE FELDER

Laguna Beach

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