Laguna Canyon Conservancy 2026 City Council Candidate Forum

Full panel, closing-statements video, timestamped candidate answers and locally archived searchable captions from the September 28, 2026 Conservancy forum.

Laguna Beach Election 2026 · Candidate forum Completed forum

Laguna Canyon Conservancy 2026 City Council Candidate Forum

Held Monday, September 28, 2026 at 5:30–8:30 p.m. (panel 6:30–8:30 p.m.) at Bridge Hall at Neighborhood Congregational Church.

Full recording · 1:49:10 · Published by Intellatech Media & Marketing. Open the original on YouTube →

Original September 28 event notice and candidate graphic

Organizer’s September 28 notice

Meet all nine City Council candidates

The Conservancy’s published notice lists Nick Aronoff, Edward Bayuk, Joy Berry, Ashley Cintas, Sue Kempf, Karen Martin, Mark Orgill, Laura Parisi and Alex Rounaghi. It asks them to describe their environmental contributions and views on protecting open space, especially Laguna Canyon.

Laguna Canyon Conservancy’s candidate panel graphic showing all nine Laguna Beach City Council candidates, with their names
Candidate graphic from the Conservancy’s published forum notice.

Monday, September 28 · Bridge Hall

  • 5:30 p.m. Doors, socializing and light refreshments
  • 6:15 p.m. Brief membership meeting
  • 6:30–8:30 p.m. Candidate panel
  • Admission: Free; RSVP requested for seating and refreshments

Bridge Hall, Neighborhood Congregational Church, 340 St. Ann’s Drive, Laguna Beach.

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Previous recording and next candidate forum

Previous available recording

Laguna Beach Arts Alliance

September 26, 2026
Full video, searchable transcript and candidate answer timestamps.

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Forum held September 28 · Recordings released October 1 · Updated October 2, 2026

Nine candidates: questions, answers and closing statements

Moderators Mary Fegraus and Bob Borthwick led the environmental discussion. Responses were generally limited to one minute, with two-minute closing statements and randomized starting speakers. Open a candidate card to compare paraphrased answers, or use the question index and both locally archived caption transcripts.

Recording, caption and attribution notes

The Conservancy’s October 1 release links the full panel (1:49:10) and a separate closing-statements edit (21:32), uploaded by Intellatech Media & Marketing. The transcript files preserve the available automatic English captions; names, figures and technical terms may be misheard. The early regional-conservation round lacks its prompt and two candidates’ responses in the captions. That round has a descriptive topic label; missing responses are not inferred. Candidate assertions about city finances, projects, litigation and technology are presented as their statements, not independently verified findings.

Left to right: Alex Rounaghi, Ashley Cintas, Edward Bayuk, Laura Parisi, Nick Aronoff, Joy Berry, Mark Orgill, Sue Kempf and Karen Martin. Full-panel and statements-video timestamps use separate clocks. Speaker assignments for the 79 indexed answers and nine closing statements were checked visually against the full recording on October 2. Candidate names in transcript passages identify answer segments; brief moderator handoffs or audience interjections may be included.

Organizer’s October 1 recording release →

View the nine discussion topics and question timestamps
  1. Impressions of Laguna Canyon · 8:52

    What stands out, positively and negatively, on the drive from the freeways through Laguna Canyon to downtown?

  2. Regional conservation and NCCP · 16:53

    Topic summary: regional conservation, the Natural Community Conservation Plan (NCCP), and maintaining open-space protection.

    The question prompt and responses by Joy Berry and Mark Orgill are not captured in the available automatic captions. This is a topic label, not a verbatim question; no position is inferred for the two unindexed responses.
  3. Acquiring additional open space · 23:22

    How would you support buying undeveloped parcels, especially the inner greenbelt within city limits?

  4. Tree preservation and Ocean Avenue · 33:15

    How would you preserve existing trees, including those affected by the Ocean Avenue streetscape project?

  5. Irvine–Laguna Wildlife Corridor · 43:02

    Do you support connecting the Cleveland National Forest and Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, and what steps would you take?

  6. Invasive plants and agency partnerships · 52:08

    Would you proactively work with Caltrans, OC Parks and other agencies to remove invasive plants threatening native canyon habitat?

  7. Fuel modification and native habitat · 1:00:10

    How would you balance wildfire fuel reduction with protecting native plant communities?

  8. Enrolling city open space in the Nature Reserve · 1:10:52

    Would you support enrolling city-owned open space outside OC Parks management in the Nature Reserve of Orange County?

  9. Partnerships and dependable funding · 1:18:08

    How would you build county, state and nonprofit partnerships, and which grants, bonds or dedicated budget sources would you pursue?

Question text is paraphrased for navigation, not a verbatim quotation.

Sue Kempf, 2026 Laguna Beach City Council candidate

Sue Kempf

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Ashley Cintas, 2026 Laguna Beach City Council candidate

Ashley Cintas

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Laura Parisi

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Mark Orgill, 2026 Laguna Beach City Council candidate

Mark Orgill

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View 8 answers and closing statement

Regional conservation round: This response is not captured in the available automatic captions, so no summary or position is inferred here. This does not mean the candidate declined to answer.

Nick Aronoff, 2026 Laguna Beach City Council candidate

Nick Aronoff

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Edward Bayuk

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Joy Berry

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Regional conservation round: This response is not captured in the available automatic captions, so no summary or position is inferred here. This does not mean the candidate declined to answer.

Alex Rounaghi

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Karen Martin

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Watch the candidate closing statements

The shorter edit contains closing statements, with its own timestamps.

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Search both locally archived caption transcripts

Showing all caption passages.

Full panel · 411 timestamped passages

Open or download full panel caption transcript

  1. 0:16Hey everyone, in case you didn't know, this is the Laguna Canyon Conseries, our general meeting and our candidates forum for 2026. We appreciate you all coming and hope you'll have a good time this evening. And as most of the people
  2. 0:37know, Laguna Canyon Conservancy, we were the leaders in 1989 for the walk in the canyon that led to the formation of Laguna Canyon Foundation. That's why when you drive through the canyon, you don't see 3,500 homes and hope we won't see them in the near
  3. 0:58future either. So I wanted to just tonight we had a random drawing of names for the seating. Instead of the same old same old alphabetical we changed the seating and there will also be some random changes when we have the questions. So we don't want everyone to
  4. 1:18feel they're, you know, expected to be the same person answering every time there's a new question. So I would like to just say a few things. We want to thank the neighborhood congregational church for allowing us to host this here. Reverend Rod,
  5. 1:38Pastor Rod, uh Joyce Swaving is here. She is the person who I think who really probably runs the church. She's here to help us. And we have some people um that are helping us with the setup tonight. And that was Scott Thomas from Laguna Canyon Foundation. We have John Levit on
  6. 2:00the wine. We have You can hold your applause. And we have Jean Felder is doing the timing tonight. I'm going to tell you about our fabulous moderators in a moment. Uh Craig Culie is doing our recording and we'll post it on the website in a few days after we have
  7. 2:18chance to edit it. So anyone who really wants something taken out, talk to us after the meeting. So, and so I would like to tell you a little bit about your moderators. They are the really the icons of environmentalism in Lagona. We
  8. 2:38really are so lucky to have Mary Fagris here tonight. She is a Laguna Beach resident since 1973 in the upper Bluebird Canyon area and she has been there with her husband Clark and raised two kids. But Mary is the chair and member of the Coastal
  9. 2:56Green Belt Authority representing the environmental organizations and can do hold on a second. Signers of the Laguna Laurel Purchase agreement. She's been a trustee for the Laguna Beach High School Scholarship Foundation from 1985 till now.
  10. 3:16Yes, she's founding trustee for Lagona Beach Community Foundation. She was the founding executive director for Laguna Canyon Foundation from 1990 to 2007. She's a past member of the Laguna Beach branch of the American Association of University Women. She's a past Laguna
  11. 3:34Beach Girl Scout leader, troop leader, life Girl Scout member. She's a former director for Laguna Green Belt, which by the way has a display in the back about the wildlife corridor you should all hopefully take a look at.
  12. 3:50So, she is also a former director for Laguna Green Belt I told you about in the back. And then she is going to continue on as a Laguna Canyon Conservancy member, Laguna Green Belt, Village Lagona, and she was a former Laguna Beach planning commissioner. So
  13. 4:07Mary would just like to say those who have inspired her with her Laguna Beach community activities, Jim Dilly, Be Widdlesley, Barbara Stewart, Elizabeth Brown, and Lita Lenny. So So thank you Mary for doing this tonight. Okay, our second moderator is Bob
  14. 4:31Borthwick. I'm sure many of you know Bob. Bob's been a resident since 1974, has always lived in the village with his wife Vicki, and has raised his two children there. Bob is a landscape architect and a planner with a long history of environmental protection. In
  15. 4:481974, he was appointed to the Eliso Creek Corridor Planning Task Group by the Orange County Board of Supervisors to oversee the Eliso Creek Corridor specific plan. He was later appointed by the Laguna Beach City Council to the
  16. 5:03Trails and Open Space Committee and then to the Laguna Canyon Flood Control Task Force. In 2016, he prepared a pro bono planning document for beautifification and restoration of Laguna Canyon Creek, which led to a $500,000 grant from the state of California to restore the creek
  17. 5:24at the Dwit property between Analise School and the Sun Valley neighborhood. He has served on the board of Laguna Green Belt for nearly 30 years and has also served on the board of LCC and is currently an adviser for us. We are grateful to you both and thank you for
  18. 5:40being here tonight. So, so I will just say that I will maybe let Bob and Mary talk a little bit about the format for the questions tonight. But are you all ready? and willing and able to participate. All right. Thank you very much for being here, candidates.
  19. 6:09>> Thank you, Gail. Um, so as Gail mentioned, the sequencing of on the seating on the table up front was done by random selection out of our cookie jar here. So, didn't want any alpha alphabetical situations. So, this is random. So also to take that one step
  20. 6:28further, we have some names in the jar which we'll choose for each question. So we'll start question number one will be somebody in the jar here and you'll start and then you'll pass the microphone to the person next to you down the line. We we we considered
  21. 6:51picking a name for every single sequence, but that was way too much and we thought that'll drag out the meeting. So anyway, but but the first question will be randomized and then you'll go from there. Um so we're going to have nine questions
  22. 7:09and then a closing statement uh of two minutes from each candidate. questions for one minute >> and the question responses will be just one minute. We we considered 30 seconds to keep it even more brief, but that seemed like that was unfair to the
  23. 7:25candidates and and to the audience. So anyway, one minute and Jean Felder will be keeping track of that. >> So, okay, sorry. Uh so, thanks to everybody that submitted questions. uh we had to limit the the the number
  24. 7:44because uh just because of time but anyway thanks thanks for coming here and thanks for participating. So um before we begin I want to honor our friend and leader and leader Lita Lenny uh who was on the city council and founded the Lagona Canyon Conservancy in 1988.
  25. 8:07Lita once said to me, "You know, I think the canyon is the soul of our town and the creek is its beating heart. We have to save the creek." And she died a few months after that conversation. Um, so as we start the first question here, um, please keep in mind Lita's,
  26. 8:30uh, uh, words to us as, as we go through tonight. So the first question and uh the first question is going to be to Karen Martin randomly selected. Uh and so so the question is um drive driving down Laguna Canyon Road
  27. 8:55from the freeways to downtown. What are your impressions of the canyon? Both positive and negative. So, one one minute impressions. >> One minute. Okay. Thank you. >> Uh, >> it's on. Okay. Thank you.
  28. 9:12>> Like this. Like this. >> Okay. Thank you. Um, thank you for having all of us here and um, can we start now? >> Yes. Go ahead.
  29. 9:24Karen Martin · answer segment>> Okay. Um, what I first notice is the feeling of being embraced by the landscape. The hillsides, the dark sky, the native sycamores, the oaks, uh, make the drive into Lagona feel different from other developed areas
  30. 9:42Karen Martin · answer segmentaround us. When I worked on the Binyan property, I learned that the hillsides can be outside our city boundary and still be a part of the way Laguna looks and feels. that stayed with me. These open areas are not simply leftover land around
  31. 9:59Karen Martin · answer segmentbuildings. They're part of our village itself. I think of them I think of the open space as a big hug. I want future generations to experience that same arrival with the landscape still surrounding our community. >> Thank you.
  32. 10:19Karen Martin · answer segment>> Are we going this way? >> Okay.
  33. 10:22Sue Kempf · answer segment>> Yeah. Thank you. No, I I consider it the the gateway to our town. And you know, if it's not for not it's not traffic snarled, it's um it's a nice smooth ride, but if there's a lot of traffic, you get a chance to kind of look around, look at the beauty of the outcroppings
  34. 10:37Sue Kempf · answer segmentand the trees, the beautiful landscaping. And depends also depends on what time of day. If you're coming in in the morning, it's kind of dewy and it's really pretty. And if you're driving in later in the afternoon, it there's a lot of golden shades. It's really gorgeous.
  35. 10:49Sue Kempf · answer segmentWe have a lot of, you know, as you're coming into town, um, there is a lot of, um, commercial on the lefthand side. Some places it can look a little jumbled over there, but in general, if you're driving in and on your right, you get quite a nice view.
  36. 11:05Mark Orgill · answer segment>> Yeah, I think a lot of folks describe it as the gateway to the community, but I I look at it a bit different. Uh it is a gateway but it it's the first foray right into kind of it sets the tone of of who we are and you know it's we're Lagona is an island and it's just kind
  37. 11:22Mark Orgill · answer segmentof that that journey you know on your way to the island. The and I do enjoy eclectic businesses coming down the canyon and um I think that they all serve the community well. Uh, the thing that bothers me the most would probably be, and I hate to say
  38. 11:38Mark Orgill · answer segmentthis, but the, uh, roadkill probably is what bothers me the most. Uh, coming down to Canada, >> right, Mark? Good answer.
  39. 11:47Joy Berry · answer segment>> And 30 years, this feels like now 31 years ago, but I drove I had a packed car coming from Phoenix, Arizona. The car almost overheated. I was dying. My air condition went out and I hit the canyon and it was a breath of fresh air. my inspiration. It's a breath of fresh
  40. 12:04Joy Berry · answer segmentair from the concrete jungle. And now 30 years later, when I drive down that canyon, I think of home.
  41. 12:16Nick Aronoff · answer segmentUm, you know, when you drive away from the from the 405 and you start coming into Lagona, uh, the canyon reminds me of the road to Hana, like in Maui. It's, uh, you know, a long, windy road. you can take your time uh to enjoy the landscape. You have the open space on
  42. 12:33Nick Aronoff · answer segmentthe right. And you have so much diversity on the left, whether it's having Anelise's school, you have the canyon conservancy, you have the the uh animal shelters, you have the dog park, you have the residential areas, and then of course you have Elcad, and then it
  43. 12:48Nick Aronoff · answer segmentgets more industrial. And then you make that turn and uh you immediately see the ocean. And it's so amazing to see that when you come into Lagona. Um, you know, I drive I drive the canyon every day, so I see a lot of the uh the great things about it and also the issues. And so
  44. 13:04Nick Aronoff · answer segmentsome of the issues being obviously the congestion. I think there's a lot of um the signage, a lot too much signage or not enough depending on what you see and obviously uh the traffic with uh the pedestrians at ECAD. So I think there's some great things about the canyon and
  45. 13:20Nick Aronoff · answer segmentthen there's some things that we can of course improve upon.
  46. 13:26Laura Parisi · answer segmentThank you. Um I think of the canyon as kind of the grand entrance to Lagona from the point where you see the sign um over the roadway to driving through the hills. Um I get the feeling of going back in time and I always wonder, gee, what was it
  47. 13:44Laura Parisi · answer segmentlike once upon a time? Um, I I enjoy the um feeling of reminiscing and thinking about what it was like for the first people the first time they went down that road. Thank you.
  48. 14:06Edward Bayuk · answer segmentThe 36 years ago, I arrived here from Connecticut and my first weekend I came down to Lagona and driving down the canyon was for me spectacular. And I said to myself, "Wow, I get to stay in a hotel for a month or two. I need to find a place down here." Went back to my
  49. 14:26Edward Bayuk · answer segmentcompany. They said, "Edward, you have to live in LA. It's too far. You're going to work too too many hours." So, I ended up in 1994 getting a place here finally four years later. And every time I drive down the canyon, it's just spectacular. I love
  50. 14:42Edward Bayuk · answer segmentthe canyon, the views. I don't mind the traffic because it allows me to see the the canyon slowly. So, I enjoy my trips into Lagouna Beach even though it takes time. I appreciate it. Thank you.
  51. 15:00Ashley Cintas · answer segmentUm, I drive the canyon every day and I really love and appreciate how it reminds me of that we still live in such a wild part of Lagona and we're very lucky to be able to see that and experience that. Um, I'm sad when I leave it and have to hop on the freeway
  52. 15:19Ashley Cintas · answer segmentand see cement everywhere and a lot of uh industry. Um, but coming back at night normally it's always very late at night. Um, I just I love being able to come back and just see nature and beauty again and see all the hard work that it took to preserve it for all of these
  53. 15:36Ashley Cintas · answer segmentyears. Um, and not to take that for granted. The only con is it's very dark when you're driving back at night. Um, but I'd rather have it be dark than lit up. So,
  54. 15:49Alex Rounaghi · answer segment>> yeah. Uh, being born and raised here, I I've uh have an attachment to the canyon in that it reminds me about what makes Lagouna Beach so special. Just in my lifetime, I've noticed how much development has taken place around us, including, you know, all by Irvine
  55. 16:03Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentessentially right at the the the entrance to the canyon. And so it really makes me contemplate how the canyon that we have in our open space, our green belt, which is really the defining quality of what makes Laguna Beach unique, was not an accident, but rather
  56. 16:17Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentthe act of intentionality. Um, it gives me chills to think about what happened in 1989 when a group of residents basically stood up to the biggest development company in Southern California, the Irvine Company, and not only did they um they win in that
  57. 16:32Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentprotest, but they were able to preserve the open space. When I think about the challenges, I often think about the above ground utility lines which pose such an existential threat to us from an evacuation and fire standpoint. So over my next term, I want to figure out a way
  58. 16:46Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentto do that in a financially feasible way without having to take over Laguna Canyon Road from Calrans.
  59. 16:53Sue Kempf · answer segmentQuestions because you know we're having a demographics change over time in this town and a lot of people don't have any idea except when you bring it up to them, they'll just they don't know about the history. But I think, you know, um, so much work has gone into this. Um, I
  60. 17:06Sue Kempf · answer segmentthink we should be looking at the NCCP because, uh, with if we can get good boundaries, I think it' be helpful for us in terms of fighting wildfires and working on invasive species because one of those that's one of the biggest risks for our town for the particularly for
  61. 17:20Sue Kempf · answer segmentthe canyon is invasive species and not being able to do proper fuel modification there. Um the open space is very dear to us and when James Dilly did this he did it because he didn't want the you know um development creep to come into Laguna Beach and that had a
  62. 17:35Sue Kempf · answer segmentlot of foresight and I think we just need to be very diligent about keeping that in place.
  63. 17:44Karen Martin · answer segment>> Thank you. Um I also support joining the NCCP. Um, and I I think it's also important to understand what NCCP is. Some people in the audience may not understand that. Um, it's the central and uh coastal Orange
  64. 18:07Karen Martin · answer segmentCounty plan and it was uh completed in 1996. It combine combines long-term habitat protection with regulatory commitments from participating land owners. The point is is that it's a coordinated conservation across the landscape.
  65. 18:28Karen Martin · answer segmentIt does not own every acre or replace every land manager. I would want Lagona to understand its responsibilities, coordinate with appropriate agencies, and use monitoring to guide the restoration. I think one item that we need to look at is the um undergrounding
  66. 18:45Karen Martin · answer segmentof some of the Edison lines and we should understand how that's going to affect the habitat out there. >> Nick, >> do we hand it to you then or just Oh, to Nick. Okay.
  67. 19:06Nick Aronoff · answer segmentuh like uh the other uh candidates on stage said, I think joining the NCCP makes a lot of sense. I think what we need to be asking is uh from the uh from what I read that that uh started back in 2023, so it's been 3 years. We need I think having an update on that is really
  68. 19:24Nick Aronoff · answer segmentimportant because uh you know we can't get complacent when it comes to uh the canyon and as we've seen with the Irvine company and the development and how they've decided to change the rules when it comes to Oak Creek Golf Course. you know, we can't expect that things won't
  69. 19:40Nick Aronoff · answer segmentchange in the canyon and if we're not part of these different uh groups where we can work together to raise money, whether it's state or federal dollars, um and you know, have a seat at the table to make sure that, you know, we're not asleep at the wheel.
  70. 19:56Laura Parisi · answer segment>> Thank you. Um I would also support efforts to uh preserve and protect. Um, I would look for opportunities to expand the protections and um, encourage joining any any group, all of the groups that uh, are like-minded with Lagouna Beach.
  71. 20:20Laura Parisi · answer segmentI think as a group, we have a stronger case.
  72. 20:27Edward Bayuk · answer segmentPro protecting acreage in the canyon is important and part of it is fire mitigation but belonging to the NCCP is important because it manages and monitors does research and joining efforts and then doing presentation at state agencies
  73. 20:52Edward Bayuk · answer segmentenables you to the state agencies will listen to you more when there's a stronger larger group. So, um I believe that protecting the canyon is important, belonging to the agency is important and uh supporting the regional plan uh being
  74. 21:14Edward Bayuk · answer segmentpartners is very very strategic and important. Thank you.
  75. 21:21Ashley Cintas · answer segmentUm the great thing is is that this is what the entire uh community of Laguna Beach agrees upon, right? We all want to protect the canyon. Um and so we need to start making this a priority now versus being reactive later. Um because it is a big undertaking, right? And so we need
  76. 21:37Ashley Cintas · answer segmentto be able to bring all the relevant organizations and stakeholders um involved whether that's at our own community level, county level, state level, federal level, and put a plan together of how we want to protect it and how we're going to be able to
  77. 21:51Ashley Cintas · answer segmentfinancially be responsible in protecting it. Um we all agree to it. We just need to start putting the plan together to be able to maintain that and do that sooner than later. So
  78. 22:03Alex Rounaghi · answer segment>> in in general I'm a proponent of the idea that regional solutions or regional problems require regional solutions. The um the national community the NCCP is is an example of that. I know one of the the challenges has been how do we um work with our our fuel modification
  79. 22:20Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentpolicies and that's been one of the barriers for for why we have a joint. I'm I'm sure there there are ways to work that out. And so, um, as long as we can protect, you know, our fire safety, I'm I'm supportive of joining it. As it relates to funding solutions, one of the
  80. 22:33Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentthings that's exciting is Proposition 4, which the voters of California passed in the um 2024 uh really supports regional uh solutions, and that's a a funding source for us. And then finally, one of the things the city's done um a good job at
  81. 22:48Alex Rounaghi · answer segmenthistorically is when there are EIR documents for neighboring communities doing developments, including the Fivepoint development where we got a little bit of money. It could have been maybe more. Um and then also the mission uh the Laguna Hills Mall. We did
  82. 22:59Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentchallenge that EIR and have a settlement. So I looked into that recently. That's an opportunity for us to get money to protect our open space because of the impacts of the future visitors. I'm going to use that mic. It's safer. I
  83. 23:13Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentdon't put this on. Yeah. >> Thank you. >> We'll be safe and keep going back and
  84. 23:22forth. Sorry. Um, what methods would you use to support purchasing additional undeveloped open space parcels, especially the inner green belt within city limits? And the first question is to be answered by Nick Arnot.
  85. 23:53Nick Aronoff · answer segmentLike some of the candidates have said, we have to use outside funding or we should be looking for outside funding. Like Alex mentioned, you have Proposition 4, which I believe is uh $10 billion in bonds and >> louder. Louder.
  86. 24:06Nick Aronoff · answer segment>> Can you hear me now? >> Yeah. >> Better. Okay. So, we need to continue to look at outside funding. I think what's really uh what it highlights here is that when the city doesn't uh handle its budget uh appropriately and we know that
  87. 24:20Nick Aronoff · answer segmentwe don't have a lot of spending and we're in the a mode of cutting then when an opportunity arises to purchase something that's very important to keep the space open. Now we have to now we're stuck between rock and a hard place and now we're moving money around from
  88. 24:33Nick Aronoff · answer segmentdifferent buckets where that can put us in a precarious position. So, we need to continue to always be looking for funding from the state and federal level so we're not putting additional pressure on our own budget >> to go that way. Yep.
  89. 24:46Laura Parisi · answer segment>> Thank you. Um I would also um seek funding from outside um the city um including investigating like-minded groups. Um I understand there are a number of them throughout the state um partner with them. Um it's
  90. 25:06Laura Parisi · answer segmenta beautiful area and probably a fairly easy sell. Um and I have always liked the idea of public private partnerships um perhaps set up a type of foundation that could receive money through the city um to be used for acquisition of open space.
  91. 25:31Edward Bayuk · answer segmentThere are many possibilities for the city of Laguna Beach to go to different agencies in the state of California for open to purchase open space, but you have to do a presentation. Obviously, we do a really bad job going to those state agencies.
  92. 25:51Edward Bayuk · answer segmentuh one of them in particular uh the California Coastal Conservancy actually uh will give the city money to purchase open space. They it's budgeted. It's there. It's state money and we do a very bad job from what I've seen in the last 10 years. Uh we should have a city
  93. 26:12Edward Bayuk · answer segmentcouncil person going to Sacramento at least once a month if not once a week because there's multiple agencies. Um California housing agency does financing for lowincome disabled housing etc. Uh so there are multiple things obviously we have to do really good presentations
  94. 26:32Edward Bayuk · answer segmentand my belief you'll get the money. Thank you.
  95. 26:39Ashley Cintas · answer segmentUm, I think it's a going to have to be a balanced approach. So, it doesn't just all fall on taxpayer dollars to do it. So, um, as everyone else has said, there are a lot of resources. There's conservation grants. There's working with the county. There's philanthropy.
  96. 26:54Ashley Cintas · answer segmentThere's different organizations. Um, so there is a lot of ways we can do and purchase. There's land trusts we can do to purchase open space. I would just want to make sure before any decision of spending money of any of our own money is made or taking in any outside money
  97. 27:07Ashley Cintas · answer segmentthat there's a plan of who's going to manage the entire property, what the maintenance is going to be, etc.
  98. 27:16Alex Rounaghi · answer segment>> Yeah. So historically we've we've tried to allocate at least half half a million a year um into our open space fund and I think we need to continue to make investments there and then the idea is how do we have a multiplier effect with that fund and I think that's where a
  99. 27:30Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentpublic private partnership comes into place kind of modeled off what we're doing with the artists um the community land trust for artists I'm very open to that idea of for open space right now we what happens at the city council level is there are opportunities where land
  100. 27:44Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentowners will say oh do you want to buy this open space parcel instead of kind of having a reactive approach to that. I do favor an approach where we go and send a letter to all the properties that we're interested in and then use the leverage of the city to try to get the
  101. 27:57Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentbest possible deal so that we can really get the highest return on investment for each dollar that we spend to maximize the amount of open space we get. And then finally, as I was alluding to before, whenever there's an EIR done in a neighboring city, the city needs to be
  102. 28:11Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentinvolved and participate and um use that leverage that we have as part of the environmental impact report process to bring back money for the community.
  103. 28:27Joy Berry · answer segment>> How can we help fund open space? One, state and federal grants. The California State Coastal Conservancy and the Wildlife Conservation Board distribute grant funding from source state climates. That's number one. Number two, mitigation funding. The Orange County
  104. 28:42Joy Berry · answer segmentTransportation Authority is legally required to mitigate environmental impacts when they build new roads or bridges by restoring open space parcels. We need to meet with them for a land swap. Number three, land trust and private philanthropy. I mean, the the
  105. 28:58Joy Berry · answer segmentLaguna Canyon Foundation can receive land from donors. And number four, these conservation easements that people have even set up. I have a theory that people would rather give their money to an open space or park than the federal government. So, we need to have some
  106. 29:14Joy Berry · answer segmentclasses to help people as they decide to either sell or distribute some of their land or their unused land into a long-term open space or conservation easement. That's how I'd fund it.
  107. 29:30Mark Orgill · answer segment>> Yeah. So, let's just reflect on what we currently do because our record is not bad at all. In fact, I'm quite proud of it. Uh, the Coastal Conservancy funded the purchase of 26 properties in the Lagona Canyon via Proposition 12. We currently have several properties that
  108. 29:45Mark Orgill · answer segmentwe're actually looking at right now uh in to acquire. In 2023 24 budget, we talked about funding $300,000 to the open space fund. We do we currently uh do work with Orange County Transportation Authority. There are examples right now where we
  109. 30:05Mark Orgill · answer segmenthave accepted properties as far as for mitigation. We of course have the new land trust that is capable of handing handling a variety of different uh types of real estate and real properties. Then we do and have historically prior to this council um accepted gifts of uh
  110. 30:22Mark Orgill · answer segmentopen space. So if somebody has a parcel that they realize is non-developable, they'll takes take the tax credit for it and uh give it to the city. And we do work and we we work with uh folks uh diligently on that as well as grant opportunities.
  111. 30:43Sue Kempf · answer segment>> Thank you. Um so I think on the back to the question that Mary asked is we need to identify those parcels. We need to get you know identifiable list to work on. Um we have about a million dollars in our open space fund at at at the moment. And hi uh council member or
  112. 31:00Sue Kempf · answer segmentmayor prom Jones has been working with towns and on grant opportunities. There's two state grants we can apply for and one federal although kind of the way things going around with the federal government they don't seem to be too interested in the environment. So that's
  113. 31:12Sue Kempf · answer segmentI think that's some jeopardy there. Um I do agree if we acquire some parcels we should have some conservation elements include or conservation easements included. Uh we did talk about during budget time at midyear moving $300,000 into our open space fund. So I hope we
  114. 31:29Sue Kempf · answer segmentcan do that. I hope our budget allows for that.
  115. 31:35Karen Martin · answer segment>> Thank you. I think we need both a land strategy and a funding strategy. Um, we need to identify properties that are important for habitat connections, watersheds, and open space areas around our neighborhoods. Then pursue donation, state conservation grants, and
  116. 31:52Karen Martin · answer segmentpartnerships. Existing dedicated funds should be used carefully with transparencies. I'm happy to know that we've had these um abilities to receive gifts of open space, but I think we need to make that more transparent and available on our
  117. 32:09Karen Martin · answer segmentwebsite because I don't think a lot of people understand that. Um outside partnerships belong in the discussion. I think in addition to the ERS, we also need to look at the surrounding comm community communities development agreements and we need to be
  118. 32:26Karen Martin · answer segmentat the development agreement tables so that we actually get some of that money back into Laguna Beach. >> Thank you. >> Thank you. Um, first off, I just like to thank the candidates for being concise and and following the the time limit,
  119. 32:51Karen Martin · answer segmentand Jean's doing a great job over there, so we're right on target. And also, I'd like to obviously apologize for this crazy sound situation. It's not something we ever anticipated. And, you know, I guess we all know we're a small town and sometimes we don't have things
  120. 33:09Karen Martin · answer segmentdon't turn out quite right. But anyway, thanks for everybody's patience. So um
  121. 33:15so the next question is uh about trees. So as an environmental organization LCC is concerned about removal of existing trees including in the downtown area. What is your position on tree preservation in particular the current Ocean Avenue
  122. 33:35streetscape project? So I'll get the next. So Ashley, will we start this one off? >> Go Ashley. >> Thank you.
  123. 33:50Ashley Cintas · answer segment>> Um yeah, I I mean I support protecting our trees and preserving them as much as possible. Um if any, you know, trees um need to be removed because of public safety or the health of the tree, um it shouldn't just be a city council decision. We need to bring all the right
  124. 34:07Ashley Cintas · answer segmentstakeholders to the table, arborists to the table um and be able to have data and science backing that decision and publicly um sharing that decision of any trees that need to be removed and then the plan to be able to you know um restore add any more trees versus just
  125. 34:27Ashley Cintas · answer segmentdoing it after the fact. So >> Oh, sorry. >> Thank you.
  126. 34:33Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentYeah, I I think trees are an really important part of our downtown landscape and just the city as a whole. With that being said, you know, public safety always has to be our top priority. And I never want to be in a situation where because the council knew that where we
  127. 34:49Alex Rounaghi · answer segmenthave one or maybe two or sometimes three arburous reports telling us that a tree is dangerous, um I'm never going to be in a situation where I'm going to vote to not remove that tree for political reasons. I think we always have to have life and safety guide it. With that
  128. 35:02Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentbeing said, we we can always do more in terms of maintaining our existing trees to ensure that they don't get in a situation where there's a life and safety threat and the tree needs to be removed. That should be our goal. And I'm always open to how we can do that
  129. 35:15Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentmore. And as Ashley alluded to, I favor an approach of a, you know, at least a 2:1, maybe even 5 to one replacement where for every tree that has to be removed for public safety reasons that we ensure that we are investing to add multiple trees. And so obviously it's a
  130. 35:30Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentit's a bummer because um it takes a while for a tree to grow, but we we should always be doubling down on investing in trees.
  131. 35:42Edward Bayuk · answer segmentI I believe we could do a better job at taking care of our trees in the city, including downtown. I'm happy that the beach and ocean uh taking down 16 trees stopped after the prominade was done because enough is enough. Um if you all go to Borders Books or a bookstore,
  132. 36:03Edward Bayuk · answer segmentthere's lots of tree books and trees communicate underground. They communicate to one another and you can learn a lot from trees. Trees are a valuable asset, to your house, to the community. And if you have time sometime, drive down to Seal Beach and
  133. 36:22Edward Bayuk · answer segmentwalk down Main Street. They have their plant plant their trees have planters that are three times bigger than ours and it's flat, no tripping hazard. So, I highly recommend a trip down there to take a look. And that's how we should do our sidewalks and our streets. Thank
  134. 36:40Edward Bayuk · answer segmentyou.
  135. 36:42Laura Parisi · answer segment>> The place I grew up in the Midwest had lots of big trees. So, I I support preservation when it's possible. Uh I think we need to follow the rules. um make sure our processes are transparent um and predictable and when possible
  136. 37:02Laura Parisi · answer segmentinvolve the public in any decision that um might impact the the health or longevity of a tree.
  137. 37:14Nick Aronoff · answer segment>> Yeah, I I agree with uh tree preservation. Trees should not be a political decision. they shouldn't and what we saw with Forest Avenue and trying to make deadlines and make sure that you know the project could you know stay on schedule and get open on time
  138. 37:26Nick Aronoff · answer segmentand that's what happens with poor planning and a reactive policy instead of a proactive policy like some people up here said trees take time to grow so we need to be looking ahead planning ahead and we already have some documents that tell us what trees need to be
  139. 37:40Nick Aronoff · answer segmentplanted in the scenic highways and landscapes plan the it's kind of or like part of the tree bible document where we already know what is allowed to be planted in which areas and we need to be following that. We we don't want to be selective and some rules apply here and
  140. 37:54Nick Aronoff · answer segmentsome rules don't apply there and we need to be protecting our trees. We need to be thinking of new ways of uh for sidewalks that are more um uh tree preserving types of infrastructure that we can be using if concrete is not the best option. But we need to be looking
  141. 38:10Nick Aronoff · answer segmentahead and planning ahead because the last thing we want is an ocean, you know, another Forest Avenue to happen on Ocean Avenue or Broadway.
  142. 38:22Joy Berry · answer segmentIt's not that hard to preserve a tree. You just don't dig up its root ball. I have a property up in the Carmel and I had 300-year-old Monterey cypus trees and I had to put it I went from a septic system to a sewer system which means digging down 8 feet. And I completely
  143. 38:40Joy Berry · answer segmentrerouted the sewer connection so that I stayed away from the tree root balls so I could save the trees. It's pretty it's pretty simple to save them if you want to save them. And I've also learned that there are things you can do to make sure that they're not hazardous to keep them
  144. 38:56Joy Berry · answer segmentwellmaintained and pruned. But if we really want, we can wrap our trees, keep the contractors away. And and I mean, it's it's just not that hard. And I think that um as an environmental person, you can have both and you can protect the trees.
  145. 39:17Mark Orgill · answer segmentI have a lot of firsthand experience in trying to save trees in my personal life and my my career. And my wife is a a big tree advocate and she would always uh ask me to save every tree that I possibly could on some of my projects and we tried hard and we spent a ton of
  146. 39:33Mark Orgill · answer segmentmoney. It works sometimes and it doesn't work other times. My save rate was probably 30 or 40% is was my success rate on saving those trees. We have a couple of options with trees. The uh forest management uh urban forest management, the biggest problems disease
  147. 39:50Mark Orgill · answer segmenttrees and root destruction. The root destruction, there are a lot of um solutions. We had over $2 million a year in uh liability claims that we were paying that, you know, I was trying to get that resolved. The council has been trying to resolve that. I have met with
  148. 40:06Mark Orgill · answer segmentcity manager several times. We have discussed options to deal with the destructive root systems, the disease trees. um we just have to keep on working on best practices to make sure that our trees are healthy going forward.
  149. 40:21Sue Kempf · answer segmentYeah, I think, you know, when we when we talk about planting trees, we need to maybe take a more sophisticated look at how we plant them because I think, you know, when you're particularly when you're planting street trees, and I'm not an expert on trees, but I saw this
  150. 40:34Sue Kempf · answer segmentfirsthand with the trees on the prominadas, you have to think about what's underneath what's underneath. And when you plant a tree, what what's it going to do? And is is there concrete under there? How's it going to be watered? What's the soil compaction? So
  151. 40:46Sue Kempf · answer segmentI think maybe we make bigger tree wells and we just do a little bit more sophisticated planting that we didn't know about maybe in the you know 80s and 90s. And um I think also we have to you know we also are a city that has to worry about liability. So we have to be
  152. 41:00Sue Kempf · answer segmentcareful about that. I do think my personal opinion about this too is I don't really think that we're doing a very good job managing trees like caring for them, pruning them, you know, getting out in front of we have we had an issue with the the pepper tree on the
  153. 41:12Sue Kempf · answer segmentpepper tree lot and you know it's fenced off. it's got some kind of fungus on it and we're treating it. Somebody pointed that out and we worked on it. But we shouldn't have to have a resident point that out to us. We should be looking at these kind of proactively before it kind
  154. 41:23Sue Kempf · answer segmentof gets to that point.
  155. 41:32Karen Martin · answer segmentI think the question was about Ocean Avenue and um what what I think about that and um on Ocean Avenue I would say a mature tree holds part of the community's memory. It should be treated it should not be treated as disposable simply because it looks old or does not
  156. 41:51Karen Martin · answer segmentfit on a drawing. I want tree and root conditions understood before a design is fixed and preservation alternatives evaluated before the removal. If in fact these trees need to be removed, I don't think they need to go into the chipper. We
  157. 42:09Karen Martin · answer segmenthave several artists in town that could be using these trees and they could be part of our our sherie boards. Um the com I believe we need uh to reforest forest. Um there are many people that are interested in contributing through donations and again
  158. 42:32Karen Martin · answer segmentwe need to make those the ability to make those donations transparent through our city website. Thank you. >> Thank you. Uh, next question is a a project that's uh being handled by Laguna Greenbell and that's the uh
  159. 42:59Karen Martin · answer segmentIrvine Laguna Wildlife Quarter. So the
  160. 43:02question is, do you support the proposed Irvine Laguna Wildlife Quarter linking the Cleveland National Forest to Laguna Coast Wilderness Park? And if so, what specific steps would you take to support this important project? So first first question is
  161. 43:24Sue.
  162. 43:30Sue Kempf · answer segmentThank you. Thank you. Well, I'm super interested in this and I spent some time with Norm Gman um as he's been talking about this quite a bit over the last few years and he showed actually showed me a tunnel where some wildlife is going through now but not going as far as we
  163. 43:43Sue Kempf · answer segmentwould like it and I think you know extending the corridor you know to Cleveland inland and NCCP and you know hooking it up with Laguna Coast wilderness is a really good thing and you need it for biodiversity you need it for you because we have limited food
  164. 43:58Sue Kempf · answer segmentsources the smaller the area so if you expand the area you'll get you more opportunity and more um more animals involved um in your in your environment. I think it might be technically complicated as as I read about it and as I talked to Norma about it and probably
  165. 44:13Sue Kempf · answer segmentexpensive. Um but we'll just have to figure out as a community how to set that up and how to support it. Um it's an interesting project. It and if I've seen some of these in other areas of California and they're they're very very interesting and very successful.
  166. 44:31Karen Martin · answer segmentThe wildlife corridor links coastal habitat with inland habitat through Irvine rather than following the Laguna Canyon Road all the way. It passes through creek corridors, the I5 I5 area, the eastern side of the great park before continuing towards the footh
  167. 44:47Karen Martin · answer segmenthills. The difficult question is whether animals can move through every segment. Funding also differs by segment. The Laguna Green Belt reported a historic investment of at least $13 million from the five-point communities in the central reach area. That's not the price
  168. 45:04Karen Martin · answer segmentof the whole corridor. I would want Laguna working with Irvine, the county, CALR, wildlife agencies on the remaining barriers with a clear account of responsibilities for funding and long-term monitoring. I think it's important to to acknowledge that it was
  169. 45:21Karen Martin · answer segmentthe green belt that actually got that $13 million to make this work. And they did that through through a lot of effort. Thank you, >> Mark. Mark more. >> Yeah, there you go.
  170. 45:38Mark Orgill · answer segment>> Yes, I'm very interested in this particular topic and I do support the the project and I haven't received an update on it recently. Uh but I I think that our uh looking for funding opportunities in uh partnership with the city. I did work to facilitate the
  171. 45:56Mark Orgill · answer segmentagreement between Elcad and the Laguna Canyon Foundation to protect the wildlife corridor around Big Bend. I spent quite a bit of time on that effort. So um I would of course like to see this project go as well. And as I stated on my uh when we talked about
  172. 46:11Mark Orgill · answer segmentwhat we think when we come down Lagouna Canyon and what bothers us, one of the statements that I made was roadkill. And so it's these types of projects that that allow animals to navigate the uh open space and prevent that.
  173. 46:30Joy Berry · answer segmentWe have to maintain this corridor otherwise it becomes we become an ecological island and this corridor allows the animals and the birds and the plants to go back and forth into the um Cleveland National Forest. Without this um we have genetic isolation and
  174. 46:48Joy Berry · answer segmentinbreeding. Without it, the animals have no way to escape wildfire. It helps with the urban obstacles that we keep putting in front of these animals. And it it it needs to be planned and we need this city needs to work with all the communities around us. I mean, I'm such
  175. 47:05Joy Berry · answer segmenta real animal lover. I actually created a donkey sanctuary at one of my properties when I host um my music symphonies. We during the uh concerts the donkeys he ha so loud you can't hear the music. But come on people, we have to cohabitate together. This planet is
  176. 47:23Joy Berry · answer segmentnot ours. It is the animals, the birds, and the plants. and we all got to get along and we all need to plant uh care for one another and this quarter does just that.
  177. 47:36Nick Aronoff · answer segmentYeah. When it comes to the corridor, I was blown away by this uh image here that's on the back of this brochure and how it shows how much development has really happened in Irvine and how, you know, they haven't been a great partner in making sure that this corridor can
  178. 47:49Nick Aronoff · answer segmentstay accessible. So, we need to be continuing to apply pressure as we do our part in preserving open space. the other cities aren't aren't doing their part. And so if that's using cameras uh to make sure that the animals are getting through, I think a lot of people
  179. 48:04Nick Aronoff · answer segmentmay not even realize what type of animals are passing through this corridor. So being creative and using social media, using those clips of the animals passing through at night to share awareness of what's the animals that are trying to get through because
  180. 48:16Nick Aronoff · answer segmentobviously when people are hiking and walking around during the day, all the animals are hidden except for the, you know, the snakes and the occasional rabbits. So, we just need to make sure and remind people visually as everyone is on social media these days of the
  181. 48:28Nick Aronoff · answer segmenttype of animals that are trying to pass through and doing everything we can to make sure that they uh survive as they uh go between the the coast and uh the Saddleback Mountains.
  182. 48:40Laura Parisi · answer segment>> Thank you. Um I I would not only support the project, but I I really like it. Um I but in reading about it, it it sounds like similar projects have been successfully put together in other areas. So I would want to study what other people have
  183. 48:57Laura Parisi · answer segmentdone, look at their results, my take a look at our results, what what have we done? Um and uh what kind of results do we have and then determine where the needs lie and uh look at the options to meet those needs. Thank you.
  184. 49:18Edward Bayuk · answer segment>> I'm a supporter of the Irvine Laguna Wildlife Corridor and it's critical because it's a sixmile uh space that we need to communicate with our other community cities to we all need to work together so that animals can get around and live with
  185. 49:40Edward Bayuk · answer segmenthumans and and we all get along. And it's it's important because even in a catastrophe like a wildfire, uh animals want to exit, too, just like the people. So, they're probably going to use that as well. So, I'm a big supporter of it. Um I think technology is going to change
  186. 50:00Edward Bayuk · answer segmentdramatically in the next few years where we're going to have other tools to fight uh forest fires and to mitigate and stop them. Um thank you.
  187. 50:12Ashley Cintas · answer segmentUm I'm a huge supporter of it and I think that outside of funding or management or um you know the maintenance of it that we can really do our part as a community to help make sure that the wildlife connectivity design is a part of the process in the
  188. 50:29Ashley Cintas · answer segmentvery beginning. We're very knowledgeable about that and if we're going to partner with um other cities and organizations for this that that is the most important part. It's not something we mitigate after the fact. So that's something I would want to make sure is a priority um
  189. 50:41Ashley Cintas · answer segmentto move forward with this.
  190. 50:45Alex Rounaghi · answer segment>> I I think my colleagues did a really good job of describing why this is so important. So then the question is how do we go about actually making it a reality and and I see the relationship with Irvine as critical to that. Um, last year when I was mayor, I I met with
  191. 50:58Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentMayor Aren, who as you all know was basically along with many people in this room, why we don't have the El Toro airport in Orange County, which played a huge role in terms of protecting our open space and wildlife. And um, and and I I beat him in the bet for water wise.
  192. 51:13Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentWe did a bet about who would win Irvine versus Laguna for the Water Wise challenge. So, we won there, so he owes me. Um, and I would work with him and I'd work with Congressman Daveman um, on how we could leverage funding from the federal government, work with Cotti
  193. 51:27Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentPetri Norris from the state government and figure out how to make it a reality. I think that regional relationships are really important when it comes to issues like this cuz it's not something that Laguna can do alone. But as everyone in this room has demonstrated in the past,
  194. 51:39Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentuh, regional progress is possible and it has a huge impact on Laguna Beach. >> Interesting. There you go. Next. >> Thank you. I'll get it for you. You ask the question. >> Next question is about invasive plants. So, uh, so
  195. 52:01Alex Rounaghi · answer segment>> I'll pick. Yep. >> He hasn't asked the question yet. Go ahead and ask the question.
  196. 52:08>> Okay. Okay. Uh the section of newly widened uh Laguna Canyon Road between El Toro Road and the 73 is already being infested by um invasive non-native plants in particular a rundo uh giant um giant reed it's called commonly. And every time I drive by that
  197. 52:33it's like a a needle poking me in the eye because it's it's just starting to get going. And once it gets going, there's no stopping it. So, um, other native other non-native plants in the canyon that endanger the native habitat would be pompus grass, Mexican feather
  198. 52:53grass and others. So the question is will you be proactive in partnering with other agencies such as CALR and OC parks uh to remove such dangerous uh species that are uh hindering our open space. So first person Mark
  199. 53:26Mark Orgill · answer segment>> uh yes I would be proactive. In fact I have been proactive. I've already reached out to our district manager for CALR and walked the that part of the canyon with her and uh tal discussed exactly that that issue. Great.
  200. 53:42Sue Kempf · answer segmentYeah, I um you know, we also have that problem in Aliso Creek with the Arundai. It's very it's very um viralent there. Yeah, I think definitely we have to work with we have to we obviously have to work with the agencies because we don't own the property but it would it would
  201. 53:55Sue Kempf · answer segmentbe great if Calrans could work with Lagona Canyon Foundation because they're so good at that and you know they work on that in Eliso Creek as well and they do in addition to that they also do our fuel modification and they do you know a lot of it by hand now um because we
  202. 54:08Sue Kempf · answer segmentdon't spray any you know pesticides anymore. So, I think we need to um hook up Laguna Canyon Foundation with CALR and see if we can get some traction there because CALR is extraordinarily slow. >> I'm going to just do this briefly.
  203. 54:24Karen Martin · answer segment>> Uh removing an invasive plant is not the same as restoring a creek. Yes, I would be proactive in working with other agencies. I want a program that deals with regrowth, restores appropriate native vegetation, and monitors the result. Laguna and Canyon's Foundation
  204. 54:42Karen Martin · answer segmenthistoric Alisa Creek work is a local example of removal tied to restoration. But I would not claim that project was glyophatefree. My own position is no glyophate. That means we need an honest assessment of non-glyophate methods, their effectiveness, repeated treatment
  205. 55:00Karen Martin · answer segmentneeds, cost, and possible disturbance to the banks or the habitat. I support university partnerships and supervised volunteer work alongside train crews. I myself did the habitat restoration over at Crystal Cove Park pulling out all the ice plant. My fingers were bloody
  206. 55:21Karen Martin · answer segmentworking with Dr. Peter Bowler. Thank you.
  207. 55:31Joy Berry · answer segmentI too would work with um CALR, although they're not always the easiest. Um I'm against using glyphosate. I think we need to make sure there's other ways to go about it. What we did in Northern California is I met with a couple of science uh teachers and they school
  208. 55:48Joy Berry · answer segmentprograms, they have these outings and so we teach them about the plants. So, so we had a contest that the kids would go on the hikes in the area and the the kids that came back with the biggest armfuls of the invasive plant species, especially the am I pronouncing right,
  209. 56:03Joy Berry · answer segmentthe rondo, they won a prize. And by teaching people and letting the families and the hikers and the mountain bikers know about this impl uh invasive species, education's key and and let everybody be part of the solution. And I think we can get a handle of it without
  210. 56:21Joy Berry · answer segmentusing bad chemicals that cause cancers.
  211. 56:27Nick Aronoff · answer segment>> Yeah, I agree with Joy on this. I think I'm a chemical-free, no glyphosate, no spraying person. I want to avoid that at all costs, but also we have to live within the reality. So, if the costs are going to be extremely high for paying for fuel modification, pulling by hand,
  212. 56:41Nick Aronoff · answer segmentthen like Joyce said, we need to be uh working with all the volunteers and all the people who care about a chemical-free uh hillside and open space to make sure that we're not having to uh use chemicals because of the cost associated with it. So, we need to be
  213. 56:56Nick Aronoff · answer segmentmaking sure that people are aware of the of the balancing act that and the realities that we have to work with. Of course, the first step would always be no chemical spraying. Uh especially not during in any waterways like in Alisa Creek or in Laguni uh Laguni Canyon uh
  214. 57:11Nick Aronoff · answer segmentCreek. And um we just need to continue to try to find any other pathway aside from spraying. And if that means getting more volunteers and reaching out to the community, I know there are a lot of people who would be interested in volunteering to make sure that we can
  215. 57:25Nick Aronoff · answer segmentstay chemical free.
  216. 57:28Laura Parisi · answer segment>> Thank you, Nick. Um I definitely um would be proactive um and support partnerships that uh uh have like-minded partnerships. Um education is another great thought. Um definitely chemical free and um outreach to uh to volunteer groups. Um,
  217. 57:57Laura Parisi · answer segmentthis seems like a a a good area for volunteers to be of assistance. Thank you.
  218. 58:08Edward Bayuk · answer segment>> I agree. We need to partner with people like Calr, Southern California Edison last Tuesday night at the city hall, city council meeting. Southern California Edison had their key people there uh addressing uh power issues and undergrounding. So, we need to be
  219. 58:27Edward Bayuk · answer segmentinvolved with these people, educate them. There are a lot of really smart people here in Laguna Beach who can help these people. Calrans, Southern California Edison. I had a good conversation with them after that meeting. But we just need to all work
  220. 58:44Edward Bayuk · answer segmenttogether and through that we'll we'll get things done.
  221. 58:51Ashley Cintas · answer segmentYes, I support um working with organizations to control any invasive species um and making sure that how it's done, that's our part um is done in a way that still protects the habitat and the ecosystem.
  222. 59:06Alex Rounaghi · answer segment>> I agree with with my colleagues up here on the stage about this issue. I think um starting off it's a really good thing that we were able to underground those utility lines along Laguna Canyon Road and that was a testament to our work with uh with the county with supervisor
  223. 59:19Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentFoley and before her supervisor Bartlett to make that a reality so I think that's a good thing but we need to be proactive um and I'm glad that the mayor has started those discussions with Calrans I think we should also bring OC Parks into it bring supervisor Foley into it and uh
  224. 59:34Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentfinally I share the the sentiments um and the policy positions against using glyphosate I'm really proud of the fact that we were able to not use glyphosate for our fuel modification program and the costs have actually are not as much as what we thought they would be
  225. 59:47Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentinitially. So that's a really good thing because you can't put a price on the impact of carcinogenic uh chemicals that can cause cancer and have a huge impact on the environment. >> Yeah, you're doing good.
  226. 1:00:10Fire risk is a serious concern. However, aggressive vegetation removal and clearing can destroy native habitat that is replaced by highly flammable flash fuel annual grasses that spread fire more rapidly than native chaparel. The question is, how would you balance fuel
  227. 1:00:36modification with the protection of native plant communities? And it starts with Edward. We give you the mic and our mic man. >> Merryill. >> Merryill. Thank you.
  228. 1:00:51>> To who? >> Ed. Edward. >> Ed. All right.
  229. 1:00:58Edward Bayuk · answer segmentI've had a very blessed life because I've worked with some amazing smart people and I have no idea why those people came into my life. About 15 years ago, I started a communications company. Uh it's uh using HF technology which is the low band of the spectrum. During
  230. 1:01:17Edward Bayuk · answer segmentthat business, I met a lot of people, interacted with a lot of first responders, uh, government agencies, and I ran into a South Korean engineer who developed a technology, uh, for forest fighting, uh, forest a tool for forest fighters. Anyway, long story short, I
  231. 1:01:38Edward Bayuk · answer segmentcommunicated with them. I reached out to the OC fire chief twice in 21 and 22. And as I mentioned earlier, technology is changing. And I'll give you a snapshot, a vision into the future. We are uh on the cutting edge. We do a really good job at defending our
  232. 1:01:56Edward Bayuk · answer segmentcountry, our defense companies do, and those are the people I work with. So when we bomb people or when we whatever, I don't want to be rude, but think of this. You have a piece of property that's 10,000 square feet and you can put
  233. 1:02:14Edward Bayuk · answer segmentlike a land call it a landmine. So if your house gets caught on fire or the or the backyard get it it implodes a fire fire retardant. My point to you is there are ways to mitigate and stop forest fires and technology is changing with drone technology and all and some of
  234. 1:02:33Edward Bayuk · answer segmentthese products are going to be out very shortly which will affect your insurance rates for your houses just like my house got cancelled in 2023. Thank you. >> Go that way. Yeah. >> No, get that way.
  235. 1:02:50Ashley Cintas · answer segmentI I think with um any decision when it comes to fire mitigation and making sure we're still protecting the ecosystem um when doing that is that we work with the appropriate agencies and organizations um to make sure that we're you know m we're protecting um you know Laguna from
  236. 1:03:08Ashley Cintas · answer segmenta a fire but also protecting our environment and the you know the plants and um the wildlife and the open space as much as possible. So, it's just working with the right organizations and bringing everyone to the table to make those decisions.
  237. 1:03:23Alex Rounaghi · answer segment>> Yeah, fire safety has to always be our top priority. And Mary, as your question pointed out, it's really a false choice to have to choose between fire safety and proper fuel modification zones and protecting the environment because often with native species that can be a
  238. 1:03:36Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentdeterrent for wildfire. We saw that with the Rancho fire where the fuel modification zones had gotten through the coastal commission just a couple months before that fire took place and we're all lucky that it did because that that really made it was a game changer
  239. 1:03:49Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentin terms of ensuring that there was not going to be damage to the that that home that was right there. So I think we need to continue to involve the Lagoon Canyon Foundation. And I think it's we're lucky to have um our mayor prom Halley Jones on the council who's really an expert on
  240. 1:04:02Alex Rounaghi · answer segmenthow we can balance native species with fuel modification because again it's a false choice. Have to choose between um fire safety and protecting our environment.
  241. 1:04:15Laura Parisi · answer segment>> The key word in this is balance and and boy it's a it's a tough one. Um definitely um start with fire work with the experts there. um ask them to to look for creative ideas. Um emphasize the need for um efficiency if if it's at all possible. Include the
  242. 1:04:40Laura Parisi · answer segmentenvironmental groups. um you know, if if they're if they're in a sensitive area to perhaps use a a more labor intensive but um sensitive way to uh make the areas um fires safe and always keep a breast of any new developments in
  243. 1:05:04Laura Parisi · answer segment>> uh removal of plants. >> I think we're good.
  244. 1:05:09Nick Aronoff · answer segmentI think of it sort of like uh when you when you're at a beach and you uh talk to the local that's been there for for decades and they know all the ins and outs of the waves and the currents and the and the sets. It's the same when it comes to our hillsides. We need to make
  245. 1:05:24Nick Aronoff · answer segmentsure that we have the local experts that have that knowledge and the deep history in our canyons and hillsides to have a seat at the table to make sure that we're continuing to improve our fuel modification while also protecting our native species. And if that means
  246. 1:05:40Nick Aronoff · answer segmentgetting more creative with technology, you know, utilizing the uh the water the the pods that we have to that help us with the rancho fire and uh and then also the use of goats. And it was really, you know, when it comes to like that local knowledge, it was really
  247. 1:05:54Nick Aronoff · answer segmentdisappointing to see that we lost our goat herder fur that was with us for such a long time. And I think that's where local knowledge really uh plays a really key part in this whole process.
  248. 1:06:07Joy Berry · answer segment>> So homes or buildings are combustible dead material. Um plants, trees, and um bushes don't all of a sudden explode. And I think just um cutting everything down is not the solution. What we've been doing in other parts of the state is we're putting copper uh sprinklers on
  249. 1:06:25Joy Berry · answer segmentthe exterior of the buildings so that when a wildfire comes, you have sprinklered your house. You can then mix it with a a tank nearby that has fire retardant. So the sprinkler lines go into this fire retardant that sprinkles a foam on top of your house just like um
  250. 1:06:41Joy Berry · answer segmentyou see the airplanes dropping. It lasts up to 10 days. There's uh a new paint that's been uh created working with NASA. It's a ceramic paint and it doesn't burn. There's things with all kinds of new things technology laminating windows we can do for our
  251. 1:06:57Joy Berry · answer segmentbuildings. But as far as the grasses in my in my camp area, I use goats. Now I know they poop, but I think it's still the better way to go than to start, you know, just tearing everything out. And it works. and we've been able to keep away from any uh massive fire issues.
  252. 1:07:20Mark Orgill · answer segment>> Yeah. Well, fortunately, we're a very participatory community. We have wonderful environmental organizations such as the Laguna Canyon Foundation and we consult with them when we uh f develop our uh fire mitigation plans. I think we do a great job. We just uh we
  253. 1:07:36Mark Orgill · answer segmenthave a plan right now in front of the coastal commission and we're waiting for approval uh to create another zone. We have some other zones that we uh are looking at. I think we can need to continue um looking at other other zones where there is a risk
  254. 1:07:52Mark Orgill · answer segmentto be had. So I I think we do a good job. I think that we you know it's proven in the science that the native species do play a positive role and I you know so I don't think that there's a conflict with that. I think we just need to concentrate on the evasive species. I
  255. 1:08:07Mark Orgill · answer segmentpersonally want to uh keep moving toward mechanical extraction and uh I do I do not support the use of glyophate and I know that that's an ongoing conversation but it's just my my personal stance.
  256. 1:08:22Sue Kempf · answer segment>> Yeah, I think this is going to be this is an ongoing problem that we're going to have and it's probably going to be worse with climate change. Um we have 27 fuel mods in town here and we mitigate those. First of all, we have to go through the coastal commission which
  257. 1:08:36Sue Kempf · answer segmentis a very laborious process but we also use hand crews. It's very very expensive to do our our fuel mod uh uh uh modification but I think so I see Scott's here from Laguna Canyon Foundation. and I know they do all our fuel bond and I would use them and get
  258. 1:08:54Sue Kempf · answer segmenttheir advice and we may have to fly some drones over the open space to see kind of how things are going over time. Um, but I'm very worried about this. I spent a lot of time on fire mitigation, fire safety um, since I've been on council because I see this as the biggest threat
  259. 1:09:08Sue Kempf · answer segmentto our town. If you have a big fire like this and we have far more problems than talking about invasive species, we got we got a really big problem. So, I I would look to Laguna Canyon Foundation for some help on this.
  260. 1:09:22Karen Martin · answer segmentThank you. Uh the canyon is a living system kind of like a coral reef. Um and we need to balance the habitat protection with fire safety. Fire safety is more than just clearing vegetation. It also includes the vulnerability of buildings and defensible st space access
  261. 1:09:39Karen Martin · answer segmentand evacuation. The ideas that Joy mentioned must be included in any fire mitigation for vegetation work. I want fire specialists and biologists working together to identify the hazard and compare effective treatments. Laguna
  262. 1:09:55Karen Martin · answer segmentCanyon Foundation describes that kind of selective work already, surveying sensitive resources and guiding trained crews. A treatment should be judged by what risk it reduces and what impacts it causes, including erosion and invasive growth. When the goals generally
  263. 1:10:13Karen Martin · answer segmentconflict, protect life safety and explain the trade-off. Where can they be achieved together? Design the work to do that. Our next question is something that most of you have really answered, but I think we
  264. 1:10:40Karen Martin · answer segmentshould take the opportunity to educate the audience as much as possible about this and and think about the answer now with some of the other questions. The
  265. 1:10:52question is, will you support the effort to enroll the city's open space? That's probably over 2,000 acres within the city not managed by OC Parks into the nature reserve of Orange County. And you got a pick. Yes. And the question first goes to Alex.
  266. 1:11:24>> Yes.
  267. 1:11:25Alex Rounaghi · answer segment>> Yeah. So, um, generally I'm supportive of this as long as we're able to do it in a way where our fuel modification policies and our our, um, the zones that we have can continue moving forward, perhaps with some adjustment. Um, I do think that it is a regional problem that
  268. 1:11:40Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentrequires a regional solution. So, overall, I'm supportive of of the concept of it. The details need to be worked out and I'm glad that um, our mayor and Mayor Prom are working on this issue. As it relates to our own open space, I'm also proud of the fact that
  269. 1:11:53Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentwe had um in 2023, I believe 300 acres of open space that was zoned owned by the city that was owned RHP that we were able to reszone and get it through a local coastal plan amendment to reszone it as permanent open space, meaning that that's going to be protected going
  270. 1:12:07Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentforward, which I think is really important um and ties the hands of future council members to make sure that that open space is protected. So overall, I'm supportive of of the concept of joining um the coalition as long as we can make sure that our fuel
  271. 1:12:20Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentmodification is able to continue.
  272. 1:12:25Ashley Cintas · answer segment>> Yeah, I'm supportive as well. I would just want to make sure what the um what that would look like, what the plan entails, who's responsible for what, what we get to um manage and what we don't get to manage. And then also making sure the public's well aware if
  273. 1:12:38Ashley Cintas · answer segmentwe do make a change. Um, so then you guys can have public input as well before we agree to anything.
  274. 1:12:47Edward Bayuk · answer segment>> I agree with joining it, but I also understand fuel modifications, but I also understand because I'm a blessed person. I have no idea why, but technology is changing and our insurance industry is going to change because of it. and we will be able to go back to
  275. 1:13:08Edward Bayuk · answer segmentprotecting our houses and our properties and all the insurance companies that exited California in 2023 will come back to California because of that technology and very shortly you will start to see what they're going to do and some of those technologies will be used around
  276. 1:13:29Edward Bayuk · answer segmentthe electrical lines with Southern California Edison in the Canyon in uh the thousands of acres and it will stop and mitigate forest fires. Thank you.
  277. 1:13:43Laura Parisi · answer segment>> Thank you. Um yes, in in general, I would um definitely support the effort to enroll the open space. That said, the devil's in the details. Um I would need to see what it actually looked like um and and study the result. um especially if there's an issue with
  278. 1:14:04Laura Parisi · answer segmentinsurance.
  279. 1:14:10Nick Aronoff · answer segment>> Yeah, I'm definitely supportive. Like uh the other uh people on st candidates on stage have said, it's all in the details. We need to be protecting the open space and we need to make sure that it stay it stays open. We don't want to be uh changing anything around and then
  280. 1:14:23Nick Aronoff · answer segmentin 5 10 or 15 years something changes like you know when there was discussion about the pump track uh at Molten Meadows in that open space you know there was a talk of keeping it open and then oh maybe that could be a pump track like we don't want to all of a sudden
  281. 1:14:37Nick Aronoff · answer segmentchange our minds uh in the future and so we need to make sure that things are properly uh planned out and thought long term so we're not finding ourselves in a in a difficult situation down the
  282. 1:14:52Joy Berry · answer segmentI want permanence for open space. At the GOP forum, they asked who your favorite president was in history, and I said Teddy Roosevelt. He was the conservationist president because he's the one that gave us all these wonderful national parks. I think having open
  283. 1:15:10Joy Berry · answer segmentspace in perpetuity is magical and wonderful and it's the best gift we can give the next generation. And so if it means that we could have permanence by form working with the national uh natural reserve of Orange County, I'm all for it. It's keeping it forever.
  284. 1:15:29Mark Orgill · answer segment>> Yes, I do support it and I'm I am working with uh Mayor Pro Tim Jones right now on some of the subtleties and the nuances of of the agreement. One of the issues Alex brought up was the uh fire mitigation issues, but I think that there are solutions to that. Uh keep in
  285. 1:15:45Mark Orgill · answer segmentmind that the NCC that uh organization was founded or part of the Irvine uh company's um ambitions and their open space strategies. There is an expiration date on that. So it it's not forever. We need to continue and always will continue need to uh be cognizant of our
  286. 1:16:08Mark Orgill · answer segmentopen space and uh you know keep our eye on it and make sure that it's protected. never take it for granted.
  287. 1:16:16Sue Kempf · answer segment>> Yeah, I think um we should consider it carefully as we we've had we've had an episode really with uh lately with um the county on fuel mod between Molten Meadows Park and Old Top of the World where we were doing what we thought we could do in terms of fuel mod and the
  288. 1:16:33Sue Kempf · answer segmentcounty stepped in. And I don't I don't really like that because fuel mod is a very serious effort that we need to have done properly in this town. Um, so if you're going to get too bureaucratic about it, I'm not a big fan of that. I'm a big fan of making sure we don't have a
  289. 1:16:48Sue Kempf · answer segmentfire in this town. Um, but you know, I'd like to bring it to council to have discussion. You know, on on the council, you can only talk to one other two one other council member. And so I think Mark and Hie have been talking about this, but I'd like to bring it to
  290. 1:17:01Sue Kempf · answer segmentcouncil so we could have a full council discussion on it.
  291. 1:17:07Karen Martin · answer segmentI was around when the NCCP was formed way back in 1996 and um although I do support us becoming a part of it because it's actually really become a preservation um effort the at the time Laguna Beach didn't feel like the joining because um NCCPS are
  292. 1:17:31Karen Martin · answer segmenttradeoffs. So what happens is when somebody wants to build somewhere else, they can buy into the NCCP and it's a trade-off. Um and sometimes we don't get a say in what that trade-off is. So um although I think it's a good uh effort, I think we really need to understand
  293. 1:17:52Karen Martin · answer segmentwhat the trade-offs are going to be and whether we have a say in those trade-offs. Our last question, >> you're doing a great job. Thank you so
  294. 1:18:08much. Protecting open space takes coordination with the county, state agencies, and nonprofits, plus reliable funding. How would you build these partnerships? and what fundraising sources, grants, bonds, dedicated budget lines would you
  295. 1:18:30pursue? And the question goes to Laura. >> How are we going to turn the question?
  296. 1:18:40Laura Parisi · answer segment>> Well, the easy answer is all of them. I you know I I I would I would not want to leave any stone unturned and personally really enjoy working with the different groups. I um currently actually um halftime work with the county and um
  297. 1:19:01Laura Parisi · answer segmenthave specialized in bonds and um thoroughly enjoy working with um the state and different programs. Now, my experience has been on the financial side, but I think that those skills are easily transferable to an environmental realm.
  298. 1:19:20Laura Parisi · answer segment>> Yeah. Okay.
  299. 1:19:22Nick Aronoff · answer segment>> You know, like we need to continue to work with our state uh local leaders, the uh whether it's different city councils, our state representatives, assembly, uh state senate, and our our uh representatives at the federal government. and we need to make sure
  300. 1:19:37Nick Aronoff · answer segmentwe're what I would do if I was on council, I'd be continuing to have an open uh uh communication with them and with our staff and making sure their staff communicates with us because, you know, I'm not going to be on council forever. If I'm lucky to be on city
  301. 1:19:49Nick Aronoff · answer segmentcouncil, hopefully it'll be for uh for eight years for two terms and then I'd have to take two years off, right, with we have term limits. And so, it's not about one individual that's going to keep the open line of communication with these different partnerships. It's about
  302. 1:20:02Nick Aronoff · answer segmentthe city council and the city as a whole and making sure that that legacy continues while we're there and and then afterwards once we're gone and just constantly working at trying to find funding, trying to find sources because we just don't want uh situations to come
  303. 1:20:17Nick Aronoff · answer segmentup where all of a sudden we're having to do another walk to save the canyon or another walk to save a hillside. >> Go back to Edward, will you? We'll get to the center of the table. Take your time coming. Don't worry. He already >> Sorry.
  304. 1:20:34Nick Aronoff · answer segment>> Um, my mind just went blank. >> Do you need the question again? >> Yeah. Could you is >> how would you build these partnerships >> and what funding sources, grants, bonds, dedicated budget lines would you >> pursue to
  305. 1:20:55Edward Bayuk · answer segmentencourage coordination with the county, state agencies, and nonprofits plus other funding. I I think uh city council members, we have the opportunity because we're elected officials to interact with state agencies and cities and as Mark pointed out and other people up here
  306. 1:21:15Edward Bayuk · answer segmenttonight. We need to do a better job at communicating and meeting with them. And I believe that because of a city council person, they should go to Sacramento, talk to visit with executives of the state agencies and um they will they will accept you. They will accept an
  307. 1:21:35Edward Bayuk · answer segmentappointment so that you can start the communications of getting uh things going and coordinations. Thank you.
  308. 1:21:46Ashley Cintas · answer segmentUm, when it comes to big decisions like our open space, um, we need to bring all stakeholders involved. And I'm already currently doing the work. I'm endorsed by Fiona Ma, who's our state treasurer. I'm endorsed by Tony Strickland, who's our state senator. Um, and I have
  309. 1:22:02Ashley Cintas · answer segmentalready done the work even prior to being on council because decisions like this are nonpartisan, right? And we need every stakeholder involved um, that can help us, right? our senator, our state senator can help us, our treasurer can help us and start the conversations
  310. 1:22:16Ashley Cintas · answer segmentearly instead of being um reactive, which we tend to have been in the last four years on big decisions like this. So, it's bringing the right organizations together. I've also spent my career um getting funding, whether it's private funding, public funding, or
  311. 1:22:30Ashley Cintas · answer segmentum getting government funding. ODO was partially funded by an SBA loan. So I know what it takes and I am willing to do the work and make the right connections with the right people in order to make sure that we protect our open space.
  312. 1:22:45Alex Rounaghi · answer segment>> I I really do believe in regional solutions and have a a track record of doing that on the council and even prior to that right I was looking at my calendar on Wednesday. I have a meeting with uh city officials from Lagona Niguel and data point about the the
  313. 1:22:57Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentfuture of our hospital. That's an example of a regional impact that requires bringing everyone to the table. When I worked for Supervisor Foley, what we were able to do was probably one of the biggest land acquisitions in recent history, which is the Banning Ranch
  314. 1:23:09Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentproperty, where we worked with Assemblywoman Cotti Petri Norris. Um, worked with the governor's office and were able to make that um permanent open space. That's exactly the the type of approach that we need to have here. Um, also continuing to work with our
  315. 1:23:23Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentcongressman Dave Ben who's been really a champion for the city of Laguna Beach. We've I was looking at the numbers in his time in the state senate and and then in Congress um along with Alex Padilla we were able to bring back $5 million. Um I'm open to Ed to getting
  316. 1:23:36Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentyour advice on how we can get more of that money. But um but I think that it really requires these regional relationships and I've built that over the last four years and I look forward to continuing to relying on them in terms of how can we benefit Laguna
  317. 1:23:48Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentBeach. On >> to Joy please. Yeah. >> Thank you.
  318. 1:23:57Joy Berry · answer segmentSo, how do we support this open space through grants and bonds? Um, I understand the green belt was the visionary to drew the map. The conservy's the one that keeps the public engaged and educated and then we've got the foundation to do the physical daily
  319. 1:24:12Joy Berry · answer segmentwork. So all three are very very important and I think what we need to do is there are some huge vehicles environmental vehicles out there like the National Resource Defense Fund, uh the California Conservancy, the National Conservancy. Um there's there's these
  320. 1:24:28Joy Berry · answer segmentnonprofits out there that I think the three organizations need to team up with to because they're raising billions and billions of dollars and there and it's these organizations, the conservancy, the foundation and the green belt that they like to give their money to and
  321. 1:24:43Joy Berry · answer segmentdonate. And so working together I think is the best way and get those grants and bonds from federal and state and whoever the really billionaires are. That's what they can do with their money. Thanks.
  322. 1:24:58Mark Orgill · answer segment>> So, I think you know we have all of our partners, our uh environmental partners and I served for um on the Coastal Green Belt Authority and it was so impressive seeing their uh partners and uh members showing up to that meeting. I think you know so we have the the folks on the
  323. 1:25:13Mark Orgill · answer segmentground that are doing this work keeping their ear to the ground looking for opportunities. I think that one of the main things that we need to do is make sure all of those organizations are constantly as healthy as they can be because they're, you know, our eyes and
  324. 1:25:28Mark Orgill · answer segmentears out there in the weeds seeing what's going on, looking for opportunities, keeping their um, you know, fingers on the pulse of what's happening. So I, and of course, we want to always work with Sacramento, use our lobbyist, uh, but, you know, and there
  325. 1:25:42Mark Orgill · answer segmenthas to be uh, communication, which there is. We I think we do a great job looking for opportunities personally and I think we do a great job um supporting our environmental organizations, but I I just don't want to I just my point is we want to make sure that we support all
  326. 1:25:57Mark Orgill · answer segmentthose environmental organizations and we make sure that they're constantly healthy and out there being the advocates of what they uh support.
  327. 1:26:06Sue Kempf · answer segment>> So the council every year puts a legislative platform together and we put our priorities down and so it's been effective. So, for example, one year we got money from Cotti Petri Norris, um, state assembly representative for wildfire. Uh, Katrina's been very
  328. 1:26:22Sue Kempf · answer segmenthelpful with us on Laguna Canyon Road. Dave Mins got money for got some money for us for the fire station. So, it's because of these relationships that we've built with them and they're they're quite healthy and effective. So, I think we just push through the leg
  329. 1:26:35Sue Kempf · answer segmentlegislative platform on open space. Whatever we need to whatever we prioritize, we just need to put on the list. Once we get it on the list, we can work quite aggressively on it and we um take that list pretty seriously. We work with towns in as well and we also ask
  330. 1:26:49Sue Kempf · answer segmentother agencies >> about you know how they can contribute. So I think um I think just getting the legislative platform straight and then following through is a good good plan.
  331. 1:27:02Karen Martin · answer segment>> Thank you. I think in addition to building partnerships, as we've all talked about, I think we need to show strong commitment here in town. And I think that needs to show in our regulations and our policies. And that's going to show in our open space element.
  332. 1:27:16Karen Martin · answer segmentAnd I think that should be one of the first elements that we get updated um of our general plan. in that open space element. I would say to everybody here, participate and make sure that these suggestions or ideas are actually put into that program because that's what
  333. 1:27:32Karen Martin · answer segmentyou can use to hold the feet to the fire to any of us who are elected. Um, I'd say public, private, and nonprofit partnerships are so important. If you have a chance, get the book Bridge. It talks about working across jurisdictions, across agencies, and it
  334. 1:27:52Karen Martin · answer segmentgives several examples as well. If you get the the real book, not the audio book, it gives you a program in the back of how to work on that. >> Good. All right. We're all right. Got it. Go for it.
  335. 1:28:12So, that was the last question. So, we're uh we're doing great and uh we're we have still have our closing statements, but I wanted to congratulate the all the candidates for being respectful of the time and uh nobody went wildly over and u so anyway, thanks
  336. 1:28:32very much. And uh so now we're going to start with um closing statements and this will be 2 minutes each. And so we'll one one last pick from the cookie jar here. >> All right. Okay. There you go.
  337. 1:28:54>> Okay. Ashley will start off. Can we pick again?
  338. 1:29:03Ashley Cintas · answer segment>> Um, I first want to thank everyone for coming tonight. Um, and also going through the the sound testing that we did for quite a bit and Mel for being a very wonderful Vanna White for helping assist with the speaker. Um, so as someone who runs 100% sustainable
  339. 1:29:19Ashley Cintas · answer segmentbusiness, I understand the daily commitment it takes to protect our environment. Laguna's open spaces, oceans, and wildlife corridor corridors are what make our community unique. But preservation also requires planning. It means making sure every decision has the
  340. 1:29:33Ashley Cintas · answer segmentright experts at the table, the right funding behind it, a long-term plan, and the real transparency with the community before decisions are made. I want us to protect what generations before us fought so hard to preserve while making thoughtful decisions about safety,
  341. 1:29:46Ashley Cintas · answer segmentinfrastructure, and our future. Because once we lose those natural assets, we don't get them back. I'd be honored to bring the responsibility, discipline, and perspective to city hall. Thank you. going to ask please.
  342. 1:30:01Alex Rounaghi · answer segment>> Yeah, thank you for the great forum and the the thoughtprovoking questions. That's one of the good things about campaigns. It makes you think about things that are long-term and um and that should always be our goal as council members. I also appreciate all
  343. 1:30:13Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentthe people who are running because um all the ideas that we're hearing up on stage add to the vitality of our town. I feel really lucky to have been born and raised in Laguna Beach. And as I reflect on the past 99 years as we approach our centennial next year, I think it really
  344. 1:30:28Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentdemands reflection about why is this such a special place? And to me, it's because we have a history of tackling really complicated problems in creative and unconventional ways. You know, you think about what happened in 1953 when an officer was shot and he bled out
  345. 1:30:42Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentbecause he wasn't able to get to a hospital in time. what the community did was not study the problem but instead build raise the money build a hospital and that's why we have a hospital in front um today public safety and the health of our community is always going
  346. 1:30:55Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentto be my top priority and that's why keeping that hospital and keeping the emergency room is has been priority one and will continue to be priority one over my next term and then as I said before it gives me chills to think about what what happened in 1989 when the
  347. 1:31:10Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentresidents of Lagouna Beach rose up and through a grassroots effort were able to save the canyon. That type of grassroots community centered um creative leadership is really what defines Laguna Beach is as when we think about how do we protect our open space or how do we
  348. 1:31:27Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentdeal with fire mitigation? How do we um you know manage our budget in a sustainable way? I think that is really those are the questions before us. I'd be um I'm proud of the record that I've had over the past four years and I look forward to working with all of you and
  349. 1:31:41Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentand um and my colleagues if I'm elected for another four years to continue to work on the really complicated challenges that that are in front of us, but the ones that really are going to um shape our next hundred years. So, thank you for your time and I hope to earn
  350. 1:31:54Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentyour support.
  351. 1:32:00Edward Bayuk · answer segmentMy first trip to Laguna Beach was 1990 and driving down the canyon. I I fell in love with Laguna Beach. As I got to the ocean, I fell more in love. I called my parents about 3 months later and I said, you know, I don't think I'm moving back even if the opportunity arises because
  352. 1:32:24Edward Bayuk · answer segmentthe people in Laguna Beach are so smart, so inspiring and passionate. the fact that they would march down Laguna Canyon and try to save the canyon and that's what brings inspiration to all of us here and brings us all together because for me
  353. 1:32:46Edward Bayuk · answer segmentyou know businesses I've been in and I told you earlier I've been very blessed. I have no idea. I am guided by angels and angels give me answers and um I believe that Lagouna Beach is probably one of the best cities in the world and we are all very very blessed. So I'm
  354. 1:33:06Edward Bayuk · answer segmentrunning for city council because I care about Lagouna Beach. I've seen the changes in the last 10 years. Some things I visiting city council meetings I don't agree with. The one thing is we all respect one another and we're all kind to one another. And you know what?
  355. 1:33:22Edward Bayuk · answer segmentThe rest of the United States doesn't have that right now. So please remember, respect people, correct people. I actually thanked Mark Orle tonight for something he did in 2023, which I'm not here October 6th because of that. So anyway, thank you very much.
  356. 1:33:49Laura Parisi · answer segment>> Well, thank you for this forum. It's been really enlightening and and was a lot of fun for me to research. Uh I'm Laura Paresi, a CPA and certified California municipal treasurer, a former member of the state treasurers uh investment board, former chair of the
  357. 1:34:08Laura Parisi · answer segmentrevenue and taxation committee for League of California cities and a 10-year uh legislative chair for the California Treasurers. I've been your elected treasurer since 1999. been a team player, but try as I might, I've watched the office of treasurer be
  358. 1:34:24Laura Parisi · answer segmentmore and more degraded, ignored, and minimized. I think that at least some of the financial problems that we face today could have been avoided with good financial guidance. Unlike the other candidates here, I want to tell you I like serving as your treasurer, but feel
  359. 1:34:43Laura Parisi · answer segmentforced to run as a council person. I hope that my candidacy puts the need for good financial practices at the forefront of voters and future council's priorities, including restoring the check and balance that an elected treasurer brings to Laguna Beach. A
  360. 1:35:04Laura Parisi · answer segmentreminder of my promises. If if elected, I will listen to residents, bring your voices and my vast organizational background to the council decisionmaking process. be laser focused on city finances. You know, just in July of 2026,
  361. 1:35:22Laura Parisi · answer segmentwe are $19 million lower in cash than we were in 25. I would insist on following the city rules. Um, and I encourage forming coalitions of like-minded cities to address common concerns like tourism, environment,
  362. 1:35:40Laura Parisi · answer segmentaffordable housing, and seismic retrofitting. I'm Laura Paresi and would love your vote for city council. Thank you.
  363. 1:35:51Nick Aronoff · answer segment>> Just wanted to thank everybody for being here tonight. Um you know I I've been very lucky to grow up here. You know start going through our school starting with analysis in the canyon in uh believe it was 1988 or ' 89. And uh you know when we talk about protecting
  364. 1:36:04Nick Aronoff · answer segmentLagona, you know, a few things are important uh that there are a few things are more important to our town uh and the identity than the canyon and the open space around it. Like I said earlier, I think of our canyon road as our road to Hana. And protecting it
  365. 1:36:17Nick Aronoff · answer segmentrequires more than good intentions. It requires sound judgment and long-term planning and a willingness to ask difficult questions before we commit. This is why our current council's record matters. We took over the South Lagoona beaches with a $22 million payment that
  366. 1:36:33Nick Aronoff · answer segmentwas they said was going to last 20 years. It'll be gone in roughly seven. Why does that why is that important? Because this council almost took over ownership of Laguna Canyon Road from Calrans with a payment of roughly $14 million where we while undergrounding
  367. 1:36:49Nick Aronoff · answer segmentthe power lines is important, the financials are also extremely important. It was going to be hundreds of millions of dollars and residents had to keep showing up at town halls and pushing for clear answers, pushing the council or staff to go back to CALR about cost and
  368. 1:37:05Nick Aronoff · answer segmentliability and not wanting to um pardon me. Um and you know, we've watched even the prominade with uh the project ballooning to $7.2 million, four months of delays and unexpected tree movables. You know, that's a lack of planning. So these are not isolated examples and
  369. 1:37:25Nick Aronoff · answer segmentuh it points to a larger problem. This council has been reactive instead of proactive. You know, listening to their bubble instead of getting outside and talking to people with different opinions. Every time we fix something after the
  370. 1:37:37Nick Aronoff · answer segmentfact, we spend more money, more time, and we destroy public trust. It could have been used protecting things that we care about most. So if elected, I would take a different approach. I would test the assumptions first. Understand the full cost and the long-term
  371. 1:37:52Nick Aronoff · answer segmentconsequences. Bring residents early, part of the conversation, not after the fact after everything's already in motion. And we need to to continue to look for outside funding. Um, you know, we need to establish clear
  372. 1:38:08Nick Aronoff · answer segmentbenchmarks and KPIs. We need to know whether we are delivering what was promised. You know, the council uses the word stewardship. If stewardship is the standard, then it should be measured through planning, accountability, and results.
  373. 1:38:27Joy Berry · answer segment>> Thank you to LCC for hosting us tonight and to everyone keeping watch over our canyon and hillsides. A special shout out to my friend and former mayor and councilwoman Tony Eisman, who was arrested for chaining herself to a bulldozer in the canyon to stop
  374. 1:38:43Joy Berry · answer segmentdevelopment. your activism, your endorsement, it means the world to me. Lagouna Beach. Yeah. Thank you. Lagouna Beach didn't end up um surrounded by 22,000 acres of wilderness by accident. It happened because of residents marched, organized, stood up to
  375. 1:39:04Joy Berry · answer segmentdevelopers, and stood up to city leaders. I don't just talk about environmental protection during election season. I fight for it all the time. That's why I formed the Laguna Beach Coalition for Environmental Protection to take the city to court when it
  376. 1:39:18Joy Berry · answer segmentcircumvented our general plan and the only restriction stopping development on privately owned hillsides. Every one of these incumbents here tonight voted to sidestep those protections, marching us toward the loss of our canyon and hillsides. The environmental rules
  377. 1:39:36Joy Berry · answer segmentpreventing development on steep hillsides have been in place for 40 years. Never before have city leaders questioned the science on how steepness is measured. It's a matter of math and engineering. A judge agreed on that point. Yet, the council voted 5 to
  378. 1:39:51Joy Berry · answer segmentappeal the ruling using your tax dollars so they can greenlight more building on steep hillsides. You hear the incumbents that unanimous votes are a sign of civility. I say it's a sign of group think. Civility means open debate, public dissent with council members
  379. 1:40:06Joy Berry · answer segmentagreeing to disagree and feeling free to vote their conscience rather than fall in line. As a council member, I'll be an independent thinker who's not afraid to disscent. My vote will take into account input from residents, experts, as well as my own experience as a small business
  380. 1:40:21Joy Berry · answer segmentowner, environmental activist, and proud Laguna Beach resident. I will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the conservancy green belt foundation to protect this wildlife corridor and force subjective standards. You deserve a leader who has proven to fight for the
  381. 1:40:35Joy Berry · answer segmentLaguna's legacy. I ask for your vote and I'd be deeply honored, deeply honored to serve this community to save our hillsides and canyons.
  382. 1:40:46Mark Orgill · answer segment>> Thank you. Thank you for being here and thank you for hosting this forum. I really appreciate it. I know we have a focus on environmental issues tonight, but I'd like to just touch on a couple of things. Of course, safety is always number one. Saving the hospital is
  383. 1:41:01Mark Orgill · answer segmentparamount. You know, we've gone through a a serious uh uh financial situation where unprecedented inflation and we've uh been able to balance the budget through that. Have we had to move money around and put it in different buckets? Certainly, we have. That's just a part
  384. 1:41:16Mark Orgill · answer segmentof doing business and and I'm proud of our ability to do that. If you look at our surrounding cities in Orange County, a lot of these cities are in real trouble. And I think that we've done an outstanding job doing that. A lot of the decisions I make, if not
  385. 1:41:31Mark Orgill · answer segmentall, you can find them, my rationale behind them in vision 2030. It's a document that we created. We finished it about 20201. I would encourage us all to to kind of review that and look at it. Over 2,000 of us participated in that. You hear me talk about stewardship a
  386. 1:41:47Mark Orgill · answer segmentlot. It's something that I've worked on uh over the years. It's a culture, heritage, and environment. You know, this city, we're very participatory. We have competing goals, friction between each one of those elements, right? It takes patience, and to to get through
  387. 1:42:04Mark Orgill · answer segmentthat. The way I look at it, we're all in this together, businesses, residences, environmental groups. I have a history of bringing those organizations together. You can talk to some of my fierce critics. Kathy Jüka, I saw Penny Milan out there. I've had a great deal
  388. 1:42:20Mark Orgill · answer segmentof success with her negotiating some of the terms uh having to do with some environmental issues. So, I think what we need is leadership and I have provided that to work through these complex question issues that this city has because we have them and we can get
  389. 1:42:37Mark Orgill · answer segmentthrough them. But it's going to take us to your ability to roll up the sleeve. I'm not going to make false promises, but one thing I can make a promise on is I can bring people together to get through these issues.
  390. 1:42:52Sue Kempf · answer segment>> Yeah, I want to thank everybody for being here today and being so entertaining with the microphone and coming up the stairs and handing and I also want to thank Merryill for keeping us hydrated up here. And I asked him if I could have a glass of wine. He said
  391. 1:43:04Sue Kempf · answer segmentthat wasn't a good look. So, I didn't do that. Yeah. Um, I also want to recognize, we haven't talked about can do at all, but Penny Mil is here and Penny Mil is a stalwart for the canyon. She's very smart. She understands how things work and shouldn't work. Not shy
  392. 1:43:19Sue Kempf · answer segmentto let us know. And I want to tell you, Penny, I personally really appreciate you in all your efforts. It's quite phenomenal. Um, you know, the challenges that we've had. I also want to say one other thing. My brother is here. My brother I don't see very often and he's
  393. 1:43:33Sue Kempf · answer segmentuh my favorite person in the world. He's also a psychologist. So, I'll be interested in the debrief after this one. He he says, "Can you raise your hand?" Yeah. Yeah. That's my brother. So, his name's Dr. Kemp. Anyway, I get a lot of uh hints from him about things,
  394. 1:43:52Sue Kempf · answer segmenttoo. So, anyway, the challenges, you know, this is a serious job for serious people. And the challenges we have are much more complicated than when I first came on the council. We have, you know, of course, we have rising costs due to the way the government's being run and
  395. 1:44:04Sue Kempf · answer segmentother things. And we have we're going to have climate change. Clearly, we're going to have significant impacts. Our housing laws and the way the state's coming down and telling us what to do is another layer of complexity causes complexity for the council, for the city
  396. 1:44:18Sue Kempf · answer segmentattorney's office and the staff. And it's it's quite challenging to navigate this. Um, my favorite thing to do as a council member is to walk in the community. I spend a lot of time out in the community and I find that's the best way just to understand what what people
  397. 1:44:31Sue Kempf · answer segmentare thinking. They're not shy about talking to me and I like talking to them. Um, and you know, council members, it's important to present facts. We work in the world of facts here. We don't really work in the world of social media. So, I just want to say that we
  398. 1:44:43Sue Kempf · answer segmentjust do our very best to put the facts out and keep you in uh keep you apprised of what's happening. And, you know, just always try to come to the council meetings if you can. We don't get a lot of participation at the council meetings, but I'd like to see more of
  399. 1:44:54Sue Kempf · answer segmentyou there. I think I know most of you in the room here, but if you want to spend some time at the council meeting, you're certainly welcome. Thank you.
  400. 1:45:04Karen Martin · answer segment>> Thank you all for being here tonight. It shows how much you care. And I also want to say thank you to Ann Kristoff that's sitting in the audience because she also contributed a lot to this community for protection of our village character and our open spaces. And I believe Mike Bean
  401. 1:45:24Karen Martin · answer segmentand Ginger Wallace were here and they also helped us create that blue belt that I really believe we need to extend. Um, Laguna Beach's greatest need is to become more proactive and less reactive. You've heard that a lot, but I really want you to understand what that means
  402. 1:45:43Karen Martin · answer segmentis that we need the regulations in place because we cannot hold any of the council members feet to the fire without having a comprehensive general plan. And I would encourage you to look at u unmasked Marcella Dornan's reel on um on with me which was a a podcast and I talk
  403. 1:46:08Karen Martin · answer segmentabout the general plan in depth but that is where you can hold the feet to the fire when we update the open space element when we update the land use element that's where you guys can participate. Too often small decisions are made about consistency with the
  404. 1:46:24Karen Martin · answer segmentgeneral plan, but they only look at the land use element. In this context, I'd say let's hold council and staff's feet to the fire by asking them to also look at the open space element. Um, we sorry, I have to take off my glasses to read, too. Um, we have spent too many
  405. 1:46:44Karen Martin · answer segmentyears solving problems, one project, one ordinance, one crisis at a time. Our general plan, zoning code, and local coastal program and other policies are supposed together as one coherent framework. Instead, too many provisions are outdated, conflicting, or confusing.
  406. 1:47:00Karen Martin · answer segmentWe're just looking at that now. It's never been updated. You can hold the council's feet to the fire, whomever you elect, if those policies and regulations are in place. Thank you.
  407. 1:47:18It's >> yours, Gail to the ladies. >> Thank you, Merrill. >> Thank you. >> Very sorry about the sound, but you know what? It worked out. Thank you, Mary,
  408. 1:47:39Bob, Jean, everybody who's helped in the room. Thank you all. So, you know, it's a testament. You know, people come and live in Lagona. You know, the lucky ones who grew up here are lucky. Most of us are transplants because this city is so special and our first introduction is
  409. 1:47:55always Laguna Canyon. So, say 8,000 people would march to save it. In 1989, it was a smaller population. I think those people are still out there are just busy, quiet, and you know, some of the, you know, original people are here in the room today and take care of and
  410. 1:48:13keep watch on. We need more people to carry on that message and to be involved. But for you, nine people to want to serve and give of your personal life to do this job. We thank you. It's wonderful. Please everybody, maybe stay after, talk to them, hear what they have
  411. 1:48:34to say. Open your mind. Spread the word. These are great people. They love Lagona. And let's love them back. Thank you. survive. >> Yeah. Yeah.
Closing statements · 77 timestamped passages

Open or download closing statements caption transcript

  1. 0:33So, that was the last question. So, we're uh we're doing great and uh we're we have still have our closing statements, but I wanted to congratulate the all the candidates for being respectful of the time and uh nobody went wildly over and u so anyway, thanks
  2. 0:53very much. And uh so now we're going to start with um closing statements and this will be 2 minutes each. And so we'll one one last pick from the cookie jar here. >> All right. Okay. There you go.
  3. 1:15>> Okay. Ashley will start off. Can we pick again?
  4. 1:24Ashley Cintas · answer segment>> Um, I first want to thank everyone for coming tonight. Um, and also going through the the sound testing that we did for quite a bit and Mel for being a very wonderful Vanna White for helping assist with the speaker. Um, so as someone who runs 100% sustainable
  5. 1:41Ashley Cintas · answer segmentbusiness, I understand the daily commitment it takes to protect our environment. Laguna's open spaces, oceans, and wildlife corridor corridors are what make our community unique. But preservation also requires planning. It means making sure every decision has the
  6. 1:54Ashley Cintas · answer segmentright experts at the table, the right funding behind it, a long-term plan, and the real transparency with the community before decisions are made. I want us to protect what generations before us fought so hard to preserve while making thoughtful decisions about safety,
  7. 2:07Ashley Cintas · answer segmentinfrastructure, and our future. Because once we lose those natural assets, we don't get them back. I'd be honored to bring the responsibility, discipline, and perspective to city hall. Thank you. going to ask, please.
  8. 2:22Alex Rounaghi · answer segment>> Yeah. Thank you for the great forum and the the thoughtprovoking questions. That's one of the good things about campaigns. It makes you think about things that are long-term and um and that should always be our goal as council members. I also appreciate all
  9. 2:34Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentthe people who are running because um all the ideas that we're hearing up on stage add to the vitality of our town. I feel really lucky to have been born and raised in Laguna Beach. And as I reflect on the past 99 years as we approach our centennial next year, I think it really
  10. 2:49Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentdemands reflection about why is this such a special place? And to me, it's because we have a history of tackling really complicated problems in creative and unconventional ways. You know, you think about what happened in 1953 when an officer was shot and he bled out
  11. 3:04Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentbecause he wasn't able to get to a hospital in time. what the community did was not study the problem but instead build raise the money build a hospital and that's why we have a hospital in front um today public safety and the health of our community is always going
  12. 3:16Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentto be my top priority and that's why keeping that hospital and keeping the emergency room is has been priority one and will continue to be priority one over my next term and then as I said before it gives me chills to think about what what happened in 1989 when the
  13. 3:32Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentresidents of Lagouna Beach rose up and through a grassroots effort were able to save the canyon. That type of grassroots community centered um creative leadership is really what defines Laguna Beach is as when we think about how do we protect our open space or how do we
  14. 3:49Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentdeal with fire mitigation? How do we um you know manage our budget in a sustainable way? I think that is really those are the questions before us. I'd be um I'm proud of the record that I've had over the past four years and I look forward to working with all of you and
  15. 4:03Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentand um and my colleagues if I'm elected for another four years to continue to work on the really complicated challenges that that are in front of us, but the ones that really are going to um shape our next hundred years. So, thank you for your time and I hope to earn
  16. 4:16Alex Rounaghi · answer segmentyour support.
  17. 4:22Edward Bayuk · answer segmentMy first trip to Laguna Beach was 1990 and driving down the canyon. I I fell in love with Laguna Beach. As I got to the ocean, I fell more in love. I called my parents about 3 months later and I said, you know, I don't think I'm moving back even if the opportunity arises because
  18. 4:45Edward Bayuk · answer segmentthe people in Laguna Beach are so smart, so inspiring and passionate. the fact that they would march down Laguna Canyon and try to save the canyon and that's what brings inspiration to all of us here and brings us all together because for me
  19. 5:07Edward Bayuk · answer segmentyou know businesses I've been in and I told you earlier I've been very blessed. I have no idea. I am guided by angels and angels give me answers and um I believe that Lagouna Beach is probably one of the best cities in the world and we are all very very blessed. So I'm
  20. 5:27Edward Bayuk · answer segmentrunning for city council because I care about Lagouna Beach. I've seen the changes in the last 10 years. Some things I visiting city council meetings I don't agree with. The one thing is we all respect one another and we're all kind to one another. And you know what?
  21. 5:43Edward Bayuk · answer segmentThe rest of the United States doesn't have that right now. So please remember, respect people, correct people. I actually thanked Mark Orle tonight for something he did in 2023, which I'm not here October 6th because of that. So anyway, thank you very much.
  22. 6:10Laura Parisi · answer segment>> Well, thank you for this forum. It's been really enlightening and and was a lot of fun for me to research. Uh I'm Laura Paresi, a CPA and certified California municipal treasurer, a former member of the state treasurers uh investment board, former chair of the
  23. 6:29Laura Parisi · answer segmentrevenue and taxation committee for League of California cities and a 10-year uh legislative chair for the California Treasurers. I've been your elected treasurer since 1999. been a team player, but try as I might, I've watched the office of treasurer be
  24. 6:46Laura Parisi · answer segmentmore and more degraded, ignored, and minimized. I think that at least some of the financial problems that we face today could have been avoided with good financial guidance. Unlike the other candidates here, I want to tell you I like serving as your treasurer, but feel
  25. 7:04Laura Parisi · answer segmentforced to run as a council person. I hope that my candidacy puts the need for good financial practices at the forefront of voters and future council's priorities, including restoring the check and balance that an elected treasurer brings to Laguna Beach. A
  26. 7:26Laura Parisi · answer segmentreminder of my promises. If if elected, I will listen to residents, bring your voices and my vast organizational background to the council decisionmaking process. be laser focused on city finances. You know, just in July of 2026,
  27. 7:43Laura Parisi · answer segmentwe are $19 million lower in cash than we were in 25. I would insist on following the city rules. Um, and I encourage forming coalitions of like-minded cities to address common concerns like tourism, environment,
  28. 8:01Laura Parisi · answer segmentaffordable housing, and seismic retrofitting. I'm Laura Paresi and would love your vote for city council. Thank you.
  29. 8:12Nick Aronoff · answer segment>> Just wanted to thank everybody for being here tonight. Um you know I I've been very lucky to grow up here. You know start going through our school starting with analysis in the canyon in uh believe it was 1988 or ' 89. And uh you know when we talk about protecting
  30. 8:25Nick Aronoff · answer segmentLagona, you know, a few things are important uh that there are a few things are more important to our town uh and the identity than the canyon and the open space around it. Like I said earlier, I think of our canyon road as our road to Hana. And protecting it
  31. 8:38Nick Aronoff · answer segmentrequires more than good intentions. It requires sound judgment and long-term planning and a willingness to ask difficult questions before we commit. This is why our current council's record matters. We took over the South Lagoona beaches with a $22 million payment that
  32. 8:54Nick Aronoff · answer segmentwas they said was going to last 20 years. It'll be gone in roughly seven. Why does that why is that important? Because this council almost took over ownership of Laguna Canyon Road from Calrans with a payment of roughly $14 million where we while undergrounding
  33. 9:11Nick Aronoff · answer segmentthe power lines is important, the financials are also extremely important. It was going to be hundreds of millions of dollars and residents had to keep showing up at town halls and pushing for clear answers, pushing the council or staff to go back to CALR about cost and
  34. 9:26Nick Aronoff · answer segmentliability and not wanting to um pardon me. Um and you know, we've watched even the prominade with uh the project ballooning to $7.2 million, four months of delays and unexpected tree movables. You know, that's a lack of planning. So these are not isolated examples and
  35. 9:46Nick Aronoff · answer segmentuh it points to a larger problem. This council has been reactive instead of proactive. You know, listening to their bubble instead of getting outside and talking to people with different opinions. Every time we fix something after the
  36. 9:58Nick Aronoff · answer segmentfact, we spend more money, more time, and we destroy public trust. It could have been used protecting things that we care about most. So if elected, I would take a different approach. I would test the assumptions first. Understand the full cost and the long-term
  37. 10:14Nick Aronoff · answer segmentconsequences. Bring residents early, part of the conversation, not after the fact after everything's already in motion. And we need to to continue to look for outside funding. Um, you know, we need to establish clear
  38. 10:29Nick Aronoff · answer segmentbenchmarks and KPIs. We need to know whether we are delivering what was promised. You know, the council uses the word stewardship. If stewardship is the standard, then it should be measured through planning, accountability, and results.
  39. 10:48Joy Berry · answer segment>> Thank you to LCC for hosting us tonight and to everyone keeping watch over our canyon and hillsides. A special shout out to my friend and former mayor and council woman Tony Eisman, who was arrested for chaining herself to a bulldozer in the canyon to stop
  40. 11:05Joy Berry · answer segmentdevelopment. your activism, your endorsement, it means the world to me. Lagouna Beach. Yeah. Thank you. Lagouna Beach didn't end up um surrounded by 22,000 acres of wilderness by accident. It happened because of residents marched, organized, stood up to
  41. 11:25Joy Berry · answer segmentdevelopers, and stood up to city leaders. I don't just talk about environmental protection during election season. I fight for it all the time. That's why I formed the Laguna Beach Coalition for Environmental Protection to take the city to court when it
  42. 11:40Joy Berry · answer segmentcircumvented our general plan and the only restriction stopping development on privately owned hillsides. Every one of these incumbents here tonight voted to sidestep those protections, marching us toward the loss of our canyon and hillsides. The environmental rules
  43. 11:57Joy Berry · answer segmentpreventing development on steep hillsides have been in place for 40 years. Never before have city leaders questioned the science on how steepness is measured. It's a matter of math and engineering. A judge agreed on that point. Yet, the council voted 5 to
  44. 12:12Joy Berry · answer segmentappeal the ruling using your tax dollars so they can greenlight more building on steep hillsides. You hear the incumbents that unanimous votes are a sign of civility. I say it's a sign of group think. Civility means open debate, public dissent with council members
  45. 12:27Joy Berry · answer segmentagreeing to disagree and feeling free to vote their conscience rather than fall in line. As a council member, I'll be an independent thinker who's not afraid to disscent. My vote will take into account input from residents, experts, as well as my own experience as a small business
  46. 12:42Joy Berry · answer segmentowner, environmental activist, and proud Laguna Beach resident. I will stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the conservancy green belt foundation to protect this wildlife corridor and force objective standards. You deserve a leader who has proven to fight for the
  47. 12:56Joy Berry · answer segmentLaguna's legacy. I ask for your vote and I'd be deeply honored, deeply honored to serve this community to save our hillsides and canyons.
  48. 13:08Mark Orgill · answer segment>> Thank you. Thank you for being here and thank you for hosting this forum. I really appreciate it. I know we have a focus on environmental issues tonight, but I'd like to just touch on a couple of things. Of course, safety is always number one. Saving the hospital is
  49. 13:23Mark Orgill · answer segmentparamount. You know, we've gone through a a serious uh uh financial situation where unprecedented inflation and we've uh been able to balance the budget through that. Have we had to move money around and put it in different buckets? Certainly, we have. That's just a part
  50. 13:37Mark Orgill · answer segmentof doing business and and I'm proud of our ability to do that. If you look at our surrounding cities in Orange County, a lot of these cities are in real trouble. And I think that we've done an outstanding job doing that. A lot of the decisions I make, if not
  51. 13:52Mark Orgill · answer segmentall, you can find them, my rationale behind them in vision 2030. It's a document that we created. We finished it about 20201. I would encourage us all to to kind of review that and look at it. Over 2,000 of us participated in that. You hear me talk about stewardship a
  52. 14:08Mark Orgill · answer segmentlot. It's something that I've worked on uh over the years. It's a culture, heritage, and environment. You know, this city, we're very participatory. We have competing goals, friction between each one of those elements, right? It takes patience, and to to get through
  53. 14:26Mark Orgill · answer segmentthat. The way I look at it, we're all in this together, businesses, residences, environmental groups. I have a history of bringing those organizations together. You can talk to some of my fierce critics. Kathy Jüka, I saw Penny Milan out there. I've had a great deal
  54. 14:41Mark Orgill · answer segmentof success with her negotiating some of the terms uh having to do with some environmental issues. So, I think what we need is leadership and I have provided that to work through these complex question issues that this city has because we have them and we can get
  55. 14:58Mark Orgill · answer segmentthrough them. But it's going to take us to your ability to roll up the sleeve. I'm not going to make false promises, but one thing I can make a promise on is I can bring people together to get through these issues.
  56. 15:13Sue Kempf · answer segment>> Yeah, I want to thank everybody for being here today and being so entertaining with the microphone and coming up the stairs and handing and I also want to thank Merryill for keeping us hydrated up here. And I asked him if I could have a glass of wine. He said
  57. 15:25Sue Kempf · answer segmentthat wasn't a good look. So, I didn't do that. Yeah. Um, I also want to recognize, we haven't talked about can do at all, but Penny Mil is here and Penny Mil is a stalwart for the canyon. She's very smart. She understands how things work and shouldn't work. Not shy
  58. 15:40Sue Kempf · answer segmentto let us know. And I want to tell you, Penny, that I personally really appreciate you in all your efforts. It's quite phenomenal. Um, you know, the challenges that we've had. I also want to say one other thing. My brother is here. My brother I don't see very often
  59. 15:54Sue Kempf · answer segmentand he's uh my favorite person in the world. He's also a psychologist. So, I'll be interested in the debrief after this one. He he says, "Can you raise your hand?" Yeah. Yeah. That's my brother. So, his name's Dr. Kemp. Anyway, I get a lot of uh hints from him
  60. 16:13Sue Kempf · answer segmentabout things, too. So, anyway, the challenges, you know, this is a serious job for serious people and the challenges we have are much more complicated than when I first came on the council. We have, you know, of course, we have rising costs due to the
  61. 16:24Sue Kempf · answer segmentway the government's being run and other things. And we have we're going to have climate change. Clearly, we're going to have significant impacts. Our housing laws and the way the state's coming down and telling us what to do is another layer of complexity causes complexity
  62. 16:37Sue Kempf · answer segmentfor the council, for the city attorney's office and the staff. And it's it's quite challenging to navigate this. Um, my favorite thing to do as a council member is to walk in the community. I spend a lot of time out in the community and I find that's the best way just to
  63. 16:51Sue Kempf · answer segmentunderstand what what people are thinking. They're not shy about talking to me and I like talking to them. Um, and you know, council members, it's important to present facts. We work in the world of facts here. We don't really work in the world of social media. So, I
  64. 17:04Sue Kempf · answer segmentjust want to say that we just do our very best to put the facts out and keep you in uh keep you apprised of what's happening. And, you know, just always try to come to the council meetings if you can. We don't get a lot of participation at the council meetings,
  65. 17:15Sue Kempf · answer segmentbut I'd like to see more of you there. I think I know most of you in the room here, but if you want to spend some time at the council meeting, you're certainly welcome. Thank you.
  66. 17:25Karen Martin · answer segment>> Thank you all for being here tonight. It shows how much you care. And I also want to say thank you to Ann Kristoff that's sitting in the audience because she also contributed a lot to this community for protection of our village character and our open spaces. And I believe Mike Bean
  67. 17:45Karen Martin · answer segmentand Ginger Wallace were here and they also helped us create that blue belt that I really believe we need to extend. Um, Laguna Beach's greatest need is to become more proactive and less reactive. You've heard that a lot, but I really want you to understand what that means
  68. 18:05Karen Martin · answer segmentis that we need the regulations in place because we cannot hold any of the council members feet to the fire without having a comprehensive general plan. And I would encourage you to look at um unmasked Marcela Dornan's reel on um on with me which was a a podcast and I talk
  69. 18:29Karen Martin · answer segmentabout the general plan in depth but that is where you can hold the feet to the fire when we update the open space element when we update the land use element. That's where you guys can participate. Too often small decisions are made about consistency with the
  70. 18:45Karen Martin · answer segmentgeneral plan, but they only look at the land use element. In this context, I'd say let's hold council and staff's feet to the fire by asking them to also look at the open space element. Um, we sorry, I have to take off my glasses to read, too. Um, we have spent too many
  71. 19:05Karen Martin · answer segmentyears solving problems, one project, one ordinance, one crisis at a time. Our general plan, zoning code, and local coastal program and other policies are supposed together as one coherent framework. Instead, too many provisions are outdated, conflicting, or confusing.
  72. 19:21Karen Martin · answer segmentWe're just looking at that now. It's never been updated. You can hold the council's feet to the fire, whomever you elect, if those policies and regulations are in place. Thank you.
  73. 19:39It's >> yours, Gail to the lady. >> Thank you, Merrill. >> Thank you. >> Very sorry about the sound, but you know what? It worked out. Thank you, Mary,
  74. 20:00Bob, Jean, everybody who's helped in the room. Thank you all. So, you know, it's a testament. You know, people come and live in Lagona. You know, the lucky ones who grew up here are lucky. Most of us are transplants because this city is so special and our first introduction is
  75. 20:16always Laguna Canyon. So, say 8,000 people would march to save it. In 1989, it was a smaller population. I think those people are still out there are just busy, quiet, and you know, some of the, you know, original people are here in the room today and take care of and
  76. 20:34keep watch on. We need more people to carry on that message and to be involved. But for you, nine people to want to serve and give of your personal life to do this job. We thank you. It's wonderful. Please everybody, maybe stay after, talk to them, hear what they have
  77. 20:55to say, open your mind, spread the word. These are great people. They love Lagona. And let's love them back. Thank you. survive. >> Yeah. Yeah.

Location and directions

Bridge Hall at Neighborhood Congregational Church

340 St Ann’s Drive, Laguna Beach, CA 92651

Open the location in Google Maps for current directions and place information.

Get directionsOfficial event details

Candidate directory

Candidates in this forum race

Open a profile for sourced background, priorities, campaign links and public records. All nine qualified candidates spoke in the recordings.

City Council candidates

Sue Kempf, 2026 Laguna Beach City Council candidate Sue KempfCity Council incumbentView profile → Ashley Cintas, 2026 Laguna Beach City Council candidate Ashley CintasNon-incumbent candidateView profile → Laura ParisiCity TreasurerView profile → Mark Orgill, 2026 Laguna Beach City Council candidate Mark OrgillCity Council incumbentView profile → Nick Aronoff, 2026 Laguna Beach City Council candidate Nick AronoffNon-incumbent candidateView profile → Edward BayukNon-incumbent candidateView profile → Joy BerryNon-incumbent candidateView profile → Alex RounaghiCity Council incumbentView profile → Karen MartinNon-incumbent candidateView profile →

Forum record

Completed September 28 at Bridge Hall. The Conservancy released the full panel and a separate closing-statements edit on October 1. Compare all nine candidates’ indexed environmental answers and statements with timestamp links, and search both locally archived automatic-caption transcripts. Caption gaps are identified explicitly.

The City listed this independently hosted forum after the organizer affirmed that candidates were offered equal time and opportunity to appear. The listing was not City sponsorship or endorsement.

Organizer and voter guide

About Laguna Canyon Conservancy

Laguna Canyon Conservancy identifies itself as a nonprofit 501(c)(4) supported by grants, donations and membership fees. Its programs and issue pages focus on Laguna Canyon, open space and environmental stewardship.

Why review it?

The completed forum lets voters compare environmental priorities, preservation methods, tree policy and wildlife protection through nine discussion topics and closing statements.

What subjects were covered?

  • Canyon character and regional conservation
  • Open-space acquisitions and funding
  • Tree preservation and Ocean Avenue
  • Irvine–Laguna Wildlife Corridor
  • Invasive plants and glyphosate
  • Fuel modification and native habitat
  • Nature Reserve enrollment and agency partnerships

How were questions gathered?

At the opening, moderators thanked people who submitted questions and explained that the number was limited by available time. Responses were generally one minute, closing statements two minutes, and starting speakers were drawn at random. The forum is complete; general organizer questions may be sent to Info@lagunacanyonconservancy.org.

Contact the organizer →

Funding and endorsements

The Conservancy says it is supported by grants, donations and membership fees; its event page does not publish a total raised or a candidate endorsement list. Hosting is not treated as an endorsement.

Sources

Verification: Schedule details follow the City Clerk’s official 2026 forum list and the linked organizer source. Last checked October 2, 2026. Research and page maintenance by Michael Kovach for the So Laguna Neighborhood Association.