South Laguna Civic Association · October 6, 2026
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=up-yCzkpuYA
Automatic English captions; transcription errors may remain. Archived October 8, 2026.

[00:00:01] comments here are going to be very very
[00:00:01] short before James Henry kicks it off.
[00:00:03] My main purpose tonight is to thank the
[00:00:06] Henry family, James and Julia and
[00:00:17] Ann and was out at the desk out outside.
[00:00:17] Uh everything everything that you see
[00:00:20] here is what they set us up for tonight.
[00:00:22] And uh there was a group that helped
[00:00:24] pull the questions together, but thank
[00:00:26] you to the family, Henry, for making
[00:00:28] this one all possible with that one.
[00:00:31] James, come on over. Thank you again,
[00:00:34] and uh good luck tonight.
[00:00:43] All right, thank you guys for coming. Uh
[00:00:43] I'm not going to I'm going to try and
[00:00:45] just I'm not going to do a half hour
[00:00:46] standup. Uh
[00:00:49] although no, you don't want to see that.
[00:00:51] So, uh, we've sent them a list of
[00:00:54] questions. We're not going to get
[00:00:55] through them all tonight. Um, we, what
[00:00:57] we tried to do tonight is make this kind
[00:01:00] of a more South
[00:01:03] uh, forum. I want to thank the
[00:01:05] candidates. This is their ninth forum
[00:01:06] and they have another one to go to. So,
[00:01:08] this is a lot of
[00:01:17] I actually had thoughts of making like a
[00:01:17] concert tour t-shirt of all the stops
[00:01:19] they made, which we should probably do
[00:01:21] because it's it's crazy. Um, but we
[00:01:24] think South Auna has some special uh
[00:01:28] considerations and we're hoping that we
[00:01:30] can elicit some information from the
[00:01:32] candidates and we can all learn
[00:01:34] something tonight. So, I'm going to
[00:01:37] start off. Um, the format's going to be
[00:01:39] we're we've randomized how they answer.
[00:01:41] We're going to give them each a minute
[00:01:42] to answer. There's a uh timer up there
[00:01:45] that's really oriented for them, but we
[00:01:47] also have people holding up things to
[00:01:49] tell them when their time is done. Um,
[00:01:52] the first question we have, which on
[00:01:53] your list is question 25,
[00:01:56] uh, has to do with the emergency room.
[00:01:58] This is a townwide issue, but it's
[00:02:01] really South Auna that started this
[00:02:04] thing. And so we thought we'd lead off
[00:02:07] with a emergency room question. So the
[00:02:10] question is, Providence Mission Hospital
[00:02:13] is leaving the city and abandoning the
[00:02:15] hospital that has been an important
[00:02:18] institution in South Auna for longer
[00:02:20] than almost anyone can remember. Policy
[00:02:22] 6.10 10 of the general plan calls for
[00:02:25] retention of a fullervice acute care
[00:02:27] hospital offering emergency services.
[00:02:31] And we believe that retaining or better
[00:02:34] yet dramatically improving the hospital,
[00:02:36] including a fully staffed and equip
[00:02:38] equipped emergency facility to serve our
[00:02:40] community and its visitors indefinitely,
[00:02:43] is an urgent public safety concern. Some
[00:02:47] people have even proposed a city tax to
[00:02:50] go towards keeping an emergency room in
[00:02:51] town. Here's the question. Do you agree
[00:02:54] that we need to retain a fully
[00:02:55] operational emergency room? And if so,
[00:02:58] what do you think the city should be
[00:03:00] doing to make that happen? If a tax were
[00:03:02] necessary to keep the hospital and ER
[00:03:05] open, would you support a new tax for
[00:03:07] that purpose? Nick, you're first.
[00:03:16] >> Uh, thank you. Thank you for everybody
[00:03:16] being here tonight. Um it's really
[00:03:18] important that every part of Laguna
[00:03:20] Beach gets represented and gets their
[00:03:21] voices heard and so I'm really glad that
[00:03:23] South Luna Civic Association was able to
[00:03:26] uh put this on tonight. Um when it comes
[00:03:28] to uh an emergency room and a QA care
[00:03:31] facility, I think it's absolutely
[00:03:33] imperative that we make sure that uh we
[00:03:36] have one that stays in Laguna Beach. And
[00:03:37] I think if Providence is not uh
[00:03:40] interested in uh being that partner with
[00:03:43] us, then we need to find another
[00:03:44] partner. And we need to be using
[00:03:46] everything we can in our toolbox to
[00:03:49] apply pressure and make sure that they
[00:03:51] work with us. And if they're not going
[00:03:53] to work with us, then like I mentioned
[00:03:55] before, we need to find a better
[00:03:56] partner. And when it comes to attacks,
[00:03:58] um personally, I'm not in favor of any
[00:04:00] tax. if it's something that will
[00:04:02] actually lead to assisting us in getting
[00:04:04] an emergency room, that could be a
[00:04:06] conversation that we start. But I don't
[00:04:08] see how raising that a tax where we're
[00:04:11] going to be able to raise uh, you know,
[00:04:13] hundreds of millions of dollars is going
[00:04:15] to uh make any significant uh impact.
[00:04:20] And so I I don't believe it's the
[00:04:22] resident's responsibility to pay to keep
[00:04:24] it in Laguna Beach. It's on Providence
[00:04:26] to uh to keep their word in being a good
[00:04:30] partner.
[00:04:37] >> We're going to go end to end. Alex, you
[00:04:37] >> We're going to go end to end. Alex, you next.
[00:04:38] >> Well, first of all, thank you to the
[00:04:39] South Laguna Civic Association. As
[00:04:41] someone born and raised in South Laguna,
[00:04:42] I appreciate all that you do. I also
[00:04:44] appreciate the scholarship. I went to an
[00:04:45] expensive college, so that really helped
[00:04:47] my family a lot. So, thank you for that.
[00:04:49] Um, I think the hospital is our highest
[00:04:51] priority because in 1953, Officer Gordon
[00:04:54] French died because he couldn't get to a
[00:04:57] hospital in time. The same need exists
[00:04:59] today. The attorney general found in
[00:05:01] 2016 that closing this emergency room
[00:05:03] would have significant consequences. We
[00:05:05] we found a 2024 condition on the radian
[00:05:10] chalk merger that says that this
[00:05:12] hospital this hospital needs to operate
[00:05:15] till 2034. We're working with the
[00:05:17] attorney general's office to argue that
[00:05:19] that condition still applies. Um it's a
[00:05:22] complicated issue. Our land use in the
[00:05:24] zoning is our biggest tool and we've
[00:05:25] made that point to Providence. They're
[00:05:27] coming back to us with a plan for a mini
[00:05:29] hospital later this month. We're talking
[00:05:31] to other operators. I can't say who, but
[00:05:33] it's somebody that everyone in this room
[00:05:35] would be excited about. All options have
[00:05:36] to be on the table because um the stakes
[00:05:38] couldn't be higher.
[00:05:48] enjoy your next.
[00:05:48] >> Thank you, South Laguna Civic
[00:05:50] Association. I call South Lagoona my
[00:05:53] home. So, you're my neighbors and
[00:05:55] welcome. I feel like I'm at home. We
[00:05:58] definitely need to have a a full acute
[00:06:00] care hospital. We know that Catalina
[00:06:02] Island has one. South Lake Tahoe has
[00:06:05] one. Aspen, Colorado has one. And those
[00:06:08] are even smaller populations. So, we
[00:06:11] need to understand the economics of how
[00:06:14] they can run an acute care hospital with
[00:06:16] beds because I think if these other
[00:06:18] places can do it, so can we. And I
[00:06:21] really do believe in doing due diligence
[00:06:23] and understanding the economics. And
[00:06:26] then we understand that then we go to
[00:06:28] bat at the negotiating table with
[00:06:30] Providence and say, "Look, if these
[00:06:32] other people can do it, so can you and
[00:06:34] we need it here and that council and
[00:06:36] government should fight for it all day
[00:06:39] long. Thank you,
[00:06:55] >> Hi, and thank you for having me. Um,
[00:06:55] yes, I think access to an ER is a would
[00:06:58] definitely be a high priority for me. Um
[00:07:01] before I would um tax or require a tax,
[00:07:06] I would uh need to determine what level
[00:07:09] of service um we would need to provide
[00:07:12] in our ER. Um what level is financially
[00:07:16] sustainable, the cost of operations, and
[00:07:20] finally determine who would be required
[00:07:22] to pay for that service.
[00:07:36] Thank you. Um
[00:07:36] I've written a lot of articles and
[00:07:37] spoken a lot about the emergency room um
[00:07:40] and the lack of um prioritizing it for
[00:07:44] the first seven months until a poll said
[00:07:47] that it was a priority for residents. Um
[00:07:49] I don't believe in doing the tax either.
[00:07:50] I think we need to do a lot of our own
[00:07:52] independent work and not be relying on
[00:07:54] Providence since Providence has already
[00:07:55] said that they don't plan on keeping the
[00:07:57] emergency room. But I do think that
[00:07:58] there's a bigger issue and the elephant
[00:08:00] in the room that has happened in the
[00:08:02] last few days um that needs to be
[00:08:04] discussed that is the biggest issue
[00:08:05] hitting Lagona right now is that what
[00:08:08] has happened that came out yesterday
[00:08:10] with $100,000 out of town developer
[00:08:14] giving money to the three incumbents.
[00:08:17] And let me just um say that is the
[00:08:20] largest donation that's been ever given
[00:08:22] in Laguna Beach history. And um I'm
[00:08:25] pretty disappointed in that. You know, I
[00:08:27] ran on trans I'm running on transparency
[00:08:29] and accountability and I decided to run
[00:08:32] because residents were coming into
[00:08:34] Laguna Beach and they said that this
[00:08:37] city council is backed by developers.
[00:08:39] They're in their pockets and I never
[00:08:40] engaged in that because I didn't want to
[00:08:42] believe it. Um and I was running and I'm
[00:08:44] running because of the lack of
[00:08:46] leadership and the lack of focus and
[00:08:48] that we're in the first time ever a
[00:08:49] three-year deficit.
[00:08:51] But I think they need to answer answer
[00:08:54] about the donation and I think we do
[00:08:55] need to take time. The residents have
[00:08:58] >> res mute or mic just
[00:09:02] >> we're going to be asking the questions
[00:09:04] up here.
[00:09:06] >> So it's that's a fair question, but we
[00:09:10] have a set of questions and we have a
[00:09:11] set of parameters and so we're going to
[00:09:13] let everybody have the same amount of
[00:09:14] time.
[00:09:16] >> Yeah. I there's an overwhelming
[00:09:18] consensus in the community. uh in
[00:09:20] support of the hospital. I haven't heard
[00:09:22] one person actually that um has a
[00:09:25] contrary opinion that they emergency
[00:09:28] room isn't a necessity. So the the
[00:09:30] public will is there. It needs to be
[00:09:33] full service, state-of-the-art. And I
[00:09:36] ultimately keep in mind any tax has to
[00:09:38] be voted in by the the public. So, if we
[00:09:41] got to that point and that was one of
[00:09:42] the um uh last options, I would
[00:09:45] certainly uh vote to put the tax on the
[00:09:50] ballot that would let the community
[00:09:52] ultimately make up the decision.
[00:10:01] >> Yeah. Thank you everybody for taking
[00:10:01] time out of your evening to join us
[00:10:03] today. Um, so as Al as Mark mentioned,
[00:10:06] you know, we pulled the community, 90%
[00:10:08] of the people wanted to keep the
[00:10:09] hospital, which is completely
[00:10:10] understandable, and I like the work that
[00:10:12] Alex and Bob were doing on, you know, we
[00:10:15] can't participate. The rest of the
[00:10:16] council can't participate actively
[00:10:17] because they're a subcommittee. But
[00:10:19] Providence, you know, has been playing a
[00:10:21] game for a long time, and they didn't
[00:10:22] really come through with us in terms of
[00:10:24] their specific plans until, you know,
[00:10:25] recently. You know, I know I know
[00:10:28] there's about a third of the board
[00:10:29] members who live in Lagouna Beach that
[00:10:31] uh serve on the Hogue board. I actually
[00:10:32] met one of them um at a campaign event
[00:10:34] not very long ago. Um I don't think we
[00:10:37] need a new tax, but I do feel like it's
[00:10:39] going to work out just fine because in
[00:10:42] South Orange County, like you know, Dana
[00:10:43] Point, San Clemeni, San Juan, and
[00:10:45] Lagouna Beach, we needed we all these
[00:10:47] cities need an an ER. And so I think
[00:10:49] working together and I think with the
[00:10:51] work that not only the subcommittee is
[00:10:53] doing, but the community group that we
[00:10:55] have, I think we'll get a good solution.
[00:10:57] You know, it's it's there's a lot of
[00:10:58] consolidation in healthcare and I could
[00:11:01] see something good happen here. I don't
[00:11:02] know anything and I'm not I'm not here
[00:11:04] to announce anything, but that's just my
[00:11:06] that's my feeling.
[00:11:16] >> Hi, good evening. Thank you for
[00:11:16] attending tonight. My name is Karen
[00:11:17] Martin and I'm grateful to be here um to
[00:11:21] answer your questions. With regards to
[00:11:24] the hospital, I think it's time to let
[00:11:27] go of Providence and stop negotiating
[00:11:30] with them. Providence has not shown to
[00:11:32] be a good neighbor. They've they've
[00:11:41] had patients on their fifth room that
[00:11:41] have caused problems to the local
[00:11:43] neighborhood. Um, I think the way to
[00:11:45] solve this is definitely not a local
[00:11:48] tax. That hospital serves us. It serves
[00:11:52] the region and it serves visitors.
[00:11:55] I think what we need to do and I commend
[00:11:58] the people that did the change.org that
[00:12:00] have almost 10,000
[00:12:03] um 10,000 um
[00:12:07] signatures. We need to continue to do
[00:12:09] that, but we need to work with our
[00:12:12] neighboring cities in conjunction with
[00:12:14] them, and we need to have them apply
[00:12:16] pressure just as much. Thank you.
[00:12:26] Okay, so we're following up the hospital
[00:12:26] emergency room question with a hospital
[00:12:28] property question for those of you with
[00:12:31] the question 26. Um, there's a huge
[00:12:35] parcel of land at that location.
[00:12:38] Hospital occupies parts of it. So the
[00:12:40] question has to do with what to do with
[00:12:42] that site.
[00:12:45] The topic of land use designation for
[00:12:47] the hospital site is to be considered by
[00:12:49] the s city's hospital task force. The
[00:12:52] original gift of the site was
[00:12:54] specifically
[00:12:55] conditioned in the deed by the donor,
[00:12:58] the James Irvine Foundation that the
[00:13:00] property and all improvements
[00:13:01] constructed thereon shall be maintained,
[00:13:04] operated, and used as a nonprofit
[00:13:06] hospital. Though that deed restriction
[00:13:08] was later lifted, the use of the entire
[00:13:11] side of the hospital was clearly the
[00:13:13] original intent. Nonetheless, some of
[00:13:15] the candidates have talked about an
[00:13:17] alternate land, alternate land uses. Do
[00:13:20] you believe that the current hospital
[00:13:22] site should remain exclusively for
[00:13:24] medical use? Joy, you're up first.
[00:13:33] >> Thank you. um zoning environmental and
[00:13:33] zoning laws or planning laws are the
[00:13:35] really only club that this uh
[00:13:37] organization or government has and so we
[00:13:40] need to keep it zoned as medical use
[00:13:42] otherwise it will go to some other
[00:13:44] purpose and I don't I think we all agree
[00:13:46] or the residents believe the quality of
[00:13:48] life is better if we have a 24-hour
[00:13:52] 7-day a week uh acute care hospital with
[00:13:55] beds. So, we need to do make sure that
[00:13:57] we do do that. If there's a alternative
[00:14:00] use for some of the parking, it might be
[00:14:02] us residents stare at an empty parking
[00:14:04] garage. And if we could get Providence
[00:14:06] to use that parking garage to get some
[00:14:08] of these people off the streets and our
[00:14:10] neighborhoods parking, that's what I
[00:14:13] would support. But I don't believe it
[00:14:14] should be anything but for hospital
[00:14:16] care.
[00:14:26] >> Yeah, I agree with Joy. I think the the
[00:14:26] first thing that needs to be thought
[00:14:28] about is when we look at the hospital
[00:14:29] property, it's a community asset. It's
[00:14:32] not a development asset. And it's
[00:14:33] unfortunate to hear the incumbents talk
[00:14:37] about development opportunities when it
[00:14:39] comes to the hospital property. I think
[00:14:40] we need to be focusing on what uh the
[00:14:44] parking garage, getting people off the
[00:14:45] streets and the neighborhoods and
[00:14:47] utilizing that parking to offset so
[00:14:49] residents can have resident parking
[00:14:51] passes. I know that's not something that
[00:14:53] we can wave with our a magic wand and
[00:14:55] have it done overnight, but it's
[00:14:56] something that we need to be working
[00:14:57] towards. And we can't be sitting on the
[00:14:59] sidelines and allowing every summer to
[00:15:01] come up and have residents be, you know,
[00:15:05] uh accosted in their parking uh in their
[00:15:07] streets, in their neighborhoods, trying
[00:15:09] to find parking in front of their homes.
[00:15:11] And so we need to make sure that uh
[00:15:13] anything that is done with that
[00:15:14] property, it's community serving and not
[00:15:17] uh special interest serving.
[00:15:28] Yeah, I agree. The um I mean what to use
[00:15:28] for the property needs to be done on
[00:15:30] what the community needs and
[00:15:31] independently um evaluated and not just
[00:15:34] what it's been said to be done by people
[00:15:36] who are not going to be uh being there
[00:15:38] anymore. So I think it needs to be um
[00:15:40] kept as medical use unless that the
[00:15:42] community and South Lagona and what
[00:15:44] Lagona needs um is to use it for
[00:15:46] parking. But I would like to keep it
[00:15:48] with medical as much as possible.
[00:15:56] >> Uh, yes. First off, I I appreciate
[00:15:56] Ashley bringing up the um the outside
[00:15:59] expenditure. I think I the only person
[00:16:01] who might have been more disappointed
[00:16:02] than her was me because we are not able
[00:16:04] to coordinate with PAX. I think it's
[00:16:06] outrageous that we have Citizens United
[00:16:08] where outside interests are able to
[00:16:10] spend money. If I were as a resident, I
[00:16:12] asked the same questions that you are
[00:16:14] asking. Why would they want to spend
[00:16:15] $100,000? I have no idea. I don't want
[00:16:17] their support. I'm not legally allowed
[00:16:19] to coordinate with them or to reject
[00:16:21] their support. They're spending that
[00:16:23] money and that's really unfortunate. As
[00:16:25] it relates to the land use for the
[00:16:27] hospital, we have to approach this from
[00:16:29] how do we get the end goal which is
[00:16:30] retaining access to emergency care in
[00:16:32] Laguna Beach. Potentially there could be
[00:16:34] a way to do adaptive reuse of the
[00:16:36] existing hospital that is not going to
[00:16:38] be seismically upgraded and put a mini
[00:16:40] hospital elsewhere on the campus. Then
[00:16:42] you could do senior assisted living in
[00:16:44] that tower. I'm open to all things, but
[00:16:46] we have to start with the idea that we
[00:16:47] have to have a hospital and then we have
[00:16:49] to figure out how to make it
[00:16:50] economically feasible. So, I think we
[00:16:52] really need to approach it from how do
[00:16:53] we actually get to what we want instead
[00:16:55] of playing politics.
[00:17:03] This microphone kind of comes from
[00:17:03] behind in here.
[00:17:05] So, you know, it's zoned institutional.
[00:17:07] So, any any use that we have in there is
[00:17:09] going to require a um conditional use
[00:17:11] permit. But I think, you know, assuming
[00:17:14] we could keep an ER and I think what
[00:17:16] Providence has been saying is that, you
[00:17:18] know, we could have a smaller hospital
[00:17:20] there as long in order to accommodate an
[00:17:22] ER, we need a smaller hospital per state
[00:17:23] law. So, we'd have to we're going to
[00:17:25] have to see how that kind of works out.
[00:17:27] But, um, I think what would be a good
[00:17:29] site for housing because it's an
[00:17:30] asbuilt, it's an asbuilt environment. We
[00:17:32] don't have to do a lot stuff for the
[00:17:33] inside. And you know, when we're kind of
[00:17:36] up against it with housing and these
[00:17:37] arena numbers, it might not be a bad,
[00:17:39] you know, reason bad use of the of the
[00:17:41] property there, there's plenty of
[00:17:43] parking and there's plenty of parking
[00:17:44] available in the summer, too. People
[00:17:46] just tend not to go there even though we
[00:17:47] put signs and flashing signs and all
[00:17:49] this other stuff. It's still
[00:17:50] underutilized. But, um, we'll have to
[00:17:52] see what happens with the hospital and
[00:17:54] then we can figure out what what's the
[00:17:55] highest and best use of that. But, you
[00:17:57] know, I've been in the hospital a couple
[00:17:58] times visiting people on the regular
[00:18:00] floors and it's not very full. So that's
[00:18:02] just two, you know, incidental, you
[00:18:05] know, observations.
[00:18:15] >> Thank you. Um well I think it's
[00:18:15] exceptionally important to keep that
[00:18:18] hospital um in keep that property as a
[00:18:22] medical use because once you convert um
[00:18:24] or use that land use or change the land
[00:18:27] use um restoring medical use would be
[00:18:31] extremely difficult. So I would use the
[00:18:33] leverage to preserve health care um
[00:18:36] health services and use as a um service
[00:18:41] facility for the residents.
[00:18:54] >> Thank you. Um I think one item that has
[00:18:54] not been looked at is the fact that we
[00:18:56] don't have any long-term care in South
[00:18:59] Orange County. So when somebody is going
[00:19:01] to be in a hospital over 10 days, we
[00:19:05] you'd have to go to Westminster. Um I
[00:19:09] think we can retain the medical use, but
[00:19:12] I think we have to be open to other
[00:19:14] uses.
[00:19:15] I personally don't want to go to a an
[00:19:18] emergency room that doesn't have doctors
[00:19:21] immediately ready to operate on me if
[00:19:24] needed. So I would be careful about
[00:19:27] making that an emergency room only. We
[00:19:30] we actually need other doctors and I do
[00:19:33] support a combination use of either a
[00:19:38] long-term long-term care hospital or
[00:19:41] convolescent hospital or senior assisted
[00:19:45] living on that property. Thank you.
[00:19:53] I agree with Karen and I also agree with
[00:19:53] Alex and I think that we have to keep a
[00:19:56] bit of an open mind regarding uh our
[00:19:58] conversations moving forward with
[00:19:59] Providence and maybe there's assisted
[00:20:02] care facility or a senior uh housing or
[00:20:04] a component of that nature. But either
[00:20:07] way, it has to be a a community uh
[00:20:09] conversation and uh I think the
[00:20:11] community would have to be involved. I I
[00:20:14] do think that we should um avoid any
[00:20:17] development on the back of the property
[00:20:18] toward the hillside and that's um I'm
[00:20:21] pretty adamant about that.
[00:20:34] >> There we go. Sorry there's a lot of mic
[00:20:34] jocking around. Apologize. Um this is
[00:20:39] our third question is question 20 on
[00:20:41] your list. Um,
[00:20:44] this has to do with the Catalina lots.
[00:20:47] South of Aliso Creek, we have one only
[00:20:50] one very small intensely used city-owned
[00:20:53] park, the Village Green. Repairs are
[00:20:56] needed to the play equipment, and SLCA
[00:20:58] is working with the city to try and
[00:21:00] preserve the playground special
[00:21:01] character and restore the landscape. In
[00:21:04] addition, there are conflicts between
[00:21:05] children, their families, and dogs and
[00:21:08] their owners about how to compate the
[00:21:10] need the needs of both. We have an
[00:21:13] opportunity to expand the village green
[00:21:16] by acquiring the two empty, relatively
[00:21:19] flat lots diagonally across the street
[00:21:21] at Monterey and Catalina, which would
[00:21:23] make it possible to provide sufficient
[00:21:24] room and facilities for both children
[00:21:27] and dogs. Do you support the purchase of
[00:21:29] those lots as additional park space
[00:21:31] before it is too late? Ashley, you're up
[00:21:33] first.
[00:21:40] >> Um, I do I think it would be best to um
[00:21:40] be asking the community of what you guys
[00:21:42] would want um the use of those lots and
[00:21:45] making sure that we look at um nonprofit
[00:21:48] or um you know public private donations
[00:21:51] to be able to um be able to pay for it
[00:21:53] and also how we're going to maintain it
[00:21:55] and all the costs that go along with
[00:21:56] being able to keep that property. Um, so
[00:21:58] but I do think with the limited amount
[00:22:00] of space that South Laguna has that it
[00:22:01] would be a really great feature for the
[00:22:02] community to be able to have. And Alex,
[00:22:05] I really appreciate you um saying that
[00:22:07] you uh were not aware of the 100,000. I
[00:22:10] would ask all three of you incumbents to
[00:22:12] do a press conference with all of us
[00:22:13] tomorrow denouncing any corruption of
[00:22:16] buying an election. So I hope that all
[00:22:17] of us can do that tomorrow.
[00:22:32] So if South Lagoona feels somewhat of a
[00:22:32] stepchild that's because we have been a
[00:22:34] stepchild when I consider all of the
[00:22:37] focus has been towards 8 to 10 million
[00:22:40] in the canyon 8 to n million in the
[00:22:42] prominade
[00:22:44] all these other portions have parks. So
[00:22:47] yes, we need to most of the tax dollars
[00:22:50] comes from South Lagoona. We need to
[00:22:52] take care of the quality of life for
[00:22:55] South Lagoona people and what helps our
[00:22:57] quality of life or is something what
[00:23:00] everyone can enjoy which is a park and
[00:23:02] it's open to the public and and it's
[00:23:05] very much needed and I mean right now we
[00:23:08] can't even get a repaired swing. If
[00:23:11] you've been to our village site, it's
[00:23:13] pathetic. It's embarrassing. And so I'm
[00:23:16] from South Lagoona. We need to take care
[00:23:18] of South Lagoona. Yes, by all means.
[00:23:28] Thank you. Yeah, we had um in October of
[00:23:28] 2024, we had two notice close sessions
[00:23:31] on on um discussions about purchasing
[00:23:34] this property. The property owner bought
[00:23:36] it for 1.7 in 2020 and he's asking over
[00:23:41] $4 million. I can't talk about what we
[00:23:43] talked about in close session, but
[00:23:44] obviously we didn't buy it. So, and I'm
[00:23:47] very aware of what goes on in South
[00:23:48] Lagoon. I spend a lot of time walking
[00:23:50] down there and down there two or three
[00:23:51] times a week picking up trash and I go
[00:23:53] into the parks a lot or village green
[00:23:55] park and I see the problem there. So,
[00:23:57] you know, we're we're aware of it. We're
[00:23:58] willing to talk about it. Beyond that,
[00:24:00] as I'm still a sitting council member,
[00:24:01] I'm not going to say too much more about
[00:24:02] that. I don't want to tip my hand.
[00:24:13] uh back well so I I grew up in South
[00:24:13] Lagona and for as long as I can remember
[00:24:15] uh that park or that uh lot has been a
[00:24:18] dirt lot and so uh to what Joy was
[00:24:20] saying about our the tax dollars of
[00:24:22] South Lagona going towards other
[00:24:23] projects it reminds me of uh when I
[00:24:26] lived in DC the license plate said
[00:24:27] taxation without representation and I
[00:24:30] feel like that's what South Laguna has
[00:24:32] been experiencing and if we're going to
[00:24:33] use tax dollars uh to buy property it
[00:24:36] needs to be for the community serving
[00:24:38] and nothing sounds more community
[00:24:39] serving in like a bark park or an
[00:24:42] extension of the village green. And so I
[00:24:44] would absolutely be in support of that.
[00:24:46] That's good tax dollars uh at use when
[00:24:49] it comes to purchasing property, keeping
[00:24:51] uh space open. And that extends also to
[00:24:54] the um the community garden as well. So
[00:24:57] we need to be doing what we can to
[00:24:58] preserve the open space to keep from
[00:25:01] over uh the overdevelopment of South
[00:25:03] Lagoona. And so using tax dollars in
[00:25:06] that way to uh keep it a community
[00:25:09] serving good. I fully support.
[00:25:18] >> Well, I actually lived in South Laguna
[00:25:18] for a few years on Summit and um we had
[00:25:21] a couple of dogs and so I'm a dog lover,
[00:25:25] but I know that South Laguna needs both
[00:25:27] dogs, places for dogs and places for
[00:25:30] kids. I believe South Laguna also has
[00:25:32] the largest number of children.
[00:25:35] Oh,
[00:25:43] >> okay. Um, so I can't
[00:25:43] >> So I can't see your faces anymore, so
[00:25:45] I'm take my glasses off. So um
[00:25:49] um so I would support um I would support
[00:25:53] any acquisition as long as we understood
[00:25:57] the the title um and what are the
[00:26:01] opportunity costs when we do that
[00:26:02] acquisition. And I think we really need
[00:26:05] to look at South Laguna, I was on the
[00:26:07] housing and human services committee and
[00:26:09] the affordable housing task force where
[00:26:11] we were looking for sites and what I
[00:26:13] realized sometimes sites are in plain
[00:26:15] sight and they're not the most obvious
[00:26:17] ones. So I would support um looking at
[00:26:20] alternative sites to meet the same
[00:26:22] requirements and needs of Southampton.
[00:26:25] Thank you.
[00:26:30] >> Yes.
[00:26:30] That was Village Green Park was my
[00:26:32] childhood park and I want to give a
[00:26:34] shout out to Ann Kristoff who was the
[00:26:36] leader to make that happen. the the
[00:26:40] the
[00:26:42] she had always identified that as the
[00:26:44] place where South Laguna's park was
[00:26:46] going to be and the board of supervisors
[00:26:47] who oversaw South Lagona at the time
[00:26:49] were looking at um doing something with
[00:26:51] that park and so she was able to rally
[00:26:53] people to stop it and that's why I had
[00:26:55] that great childhood experience at
[00:26:57] Village Green Park. As relates to the
[00:26:59] acquisition of this property, I support
[00:27:01] the concept of it. I think we need to
[00:27:03] invest more in South Auna. really comes
[00:27:04] down to what council member Kemp was
[00:27:06] talking about, which is that we cannot
[00:27:08] overpay for a property even if it has
[00:27:10] the best use. We have a policy at the
[00:27:12] city where we we do an appraisal and
[00:27:14] government should not be in the business
[00:27:15] of paying more than a property is worth.
[00:27:18] Um, that's just fiscally responsible.
[00:27:20] So, I think that if we could put
[00:27:21] together a deal where it's a fair deal
[00:27:22] for the city, maybe we have some private
[00:27:24] philanthropy that can fill the capital
[00:27:26] gap, that's a great thing. I'm also
[00:27:28] working with um Yeah, thank you.
[00:27:39] Thank you. Uh yes, I have uh supported
[00:27:39] the effort in the past. As Sue said, it
[00:27:41] was a close session um agenda item and
[00:27:44] so I really can't talk about the
[00:27:45] specifics. I've also shown support in
[00:27:48] the past for the community garden and
[00:27:50] we've also had a lot of challenges with
[00:27:52] that, you know, finding who the
[00:27:53] ownership was and um establishing a fair
[00:27:56] price and but if we could get organized
[00:27:59] and establish a fair price for this
[00:28:00] property, I would I would definitely
[00:28:02] support that.
[00:28:10] >> Well, I like everything I've heard so
[00:28:10] far. Yes, I would definitely support um
[00:28:13] this type of acquisition financially,
[00:28:15] but doing so responsibly.
[00:28:19] It sounds like there's a unique
[00:28:21] opportunity here and um open space I I
[00:28:25] just think open space has a long-term
[00:28:27] benefit and so perhaps evaluating the
[00:28:30] price um in relation to that long-term
[00:28:33] benefit might help bring together that
[00:28:37] economic gap.
[00:28:47] All right. How's everyone doing? You
[00:28:47] okay? All right. I thought we went to
[00:28:49] Showtime Lakers here. The, you know,
[00:28:51] when the lights went down. So, um, I'm I
[00:28:55] have a little preamble on this next
[00:28:56] question, which is question one has to
[00:28:58] do with voting rights. I think this is
[00:29:01] my fourth one of these to do over the
[00:29:04] last eight years. We have asked this
[00:29:06] question and everyone every candidate
[00:29:09] supports the idea and we're asking it
[00:29:12] again. So I hope not to be here in
[00:29:13] another two, four or eight years asking
[00:29:16] this question. But since we're in the
[00:29:18] same boat, we're going to ask it.
[00:29:21] All of South Auna is when this within
[00:29:23] the service area of the South Coast
[00:29:25] Water District, but outside of its
[00:29:27] electoral boundaries. Until 1999, the
[00:29:30] residents of South Laguna could vote for
[00:29:32] the water district's board of directors.
[00:29:35] Then the city council and the water
[00:29:37] district agreed without consultation of
[00:29:40] the voters to shift the electoral bound
[00:29:42] boundary but not the service boundary of
[00:29:44] the southward edge to the edge of Dana
[00:29:47] Point thus disenfranchising voters in
[00:29:49] South Auno. In South Auno, we continue
[00:29:52] to be charged for the South South County
[00:29:56] Water District's projects, for example,
[00:29:57] the proposed Dhini Dowl plant and we
[00:30:01] continue to be at odds with the water
[00:30:03] district about product projects within
[00:30:05] our community, namely the further
[00:30:07] development of the 4th Avenue parcel.
[00:30:10] We strongly believe that we should be
[00:30:12] able to vote for the members of the
[00:30:14] water district's board. For this to
[00:30:16] happen, only the Lagona Beach City
[00:30:19] Council can initiate the process. Over
[00:30:21] the pro past several election cycles,
[00:30:24] all council candidates have agreed to
[00:30:26] support the reinstatement of our right
[00:30:28] to vote, but no action has been taken.
[00:30:30] Would you commit to having the city
[00:30:32] initiate action to restore our right to
[00:30:34] vote? Sue, you're up first.
[00:30:38] >> Yeah, thank you. I you know I think this
[00:30:40] we've talked about this topic before as
[00:30:42] as James was saying and I think the the
[00:30:46] thread got lost during COVID like a lot
[00:30:48] of things but I think there's kind of
[00:30:49] three ways we could approach this. I do
[00:30:51] support it. Um one is I think we could
[00:30:54] petition LAFCO as residents. That's one
[00:30:57] way to do it. And you know, we could c
[00:31:00] the city could cover the $7,500 nominal
[00:31:02] fee or the city could uh petitionco or
[00:31:05] third is south coast water uh district
[00:31:08] could also petition. So I think there's
[00:31:10] three good alternatives. I was I know I
[00:31:13] know Dave uh Kif and Rick Shakaco have
[00:31:16] been talking about this but it's
[00:31:17] probably like a six to ninemonth effort
[00:31:19] but I I do think it's doable and I do
[00:31:20] think we'll be able to do it.
[00:31:28] Um, so I I think the biggest distinction
[00:31:28] here is no more making it a talking
[00:31:31] point or an election promise and
[00:31:32] actually producing a result. Um, there
[00:31:35] is a viable pathway with looking at the
[00:31:37] boundaries and working with LAFCO. Um,
[00:31:39] so you have my commitment that that will
[00:31:41] be a top priority when I'm on city
[00:31:43] council and it will not be an election
[00:31:45] promise for next uh term. Thank you.
[00:31:55] Um, thank you. Um, in my research, I
[00:31:56] guess LAPCO already documented this
[00:31:59] problem and laid out a path forward. And
[00:32:01] from what I understand, it's a pretty
[00:32:03] simple path with the current council by
[00:32:06] just doing an agreement. So, this is a
[00:32:09] governance issue. It's not something
[00:32:11] that needs a lot of effort. It just fell
[00:32:13] off the table um of the council. Um,
[00:32:19] I think the next item for council would
[00:32:22] be a 60-day public report with existing
[00:32:26] agreements. It's it's already uh an item
[00:32:30] that LAFCO has approved. Thank you.
[00:32:40] Well, as I read it, says all successful
[00:32:40] candidates agreed to support the
[00:32:42] reinstatement. So let's ask these
[00:32:44] incumbents what have they been doing for
[00:32:46] the last 4 to8 years because if it's
[00:32:49] secular government then that why haven't
[00:32:53] they taken issue with it? If this
[00:32:55] council doesn't change if the people on
[00:32:58] this council don't change guess what
[00:33:01] nothing's going to change and we'll be
[00:33:03] here again in two to four years asking
[00:33:06] the same question. So your vote really
[00:33:08] matters.
[00:33:16] There's no doubt there's there's a lot
[00:33:16] to do, but there's there's been a lot
[00:33:18] done. And uh do I support the effort? I
[00:33:20] do support the effort. Uh do I think
[00:33:22] that we could put more energy into it
[00:33:25] and make it happen? I do. And um I think
[00:33:27] that we could make it a priority.
[00:33:39] >> Uh yeah, it's this is all talk and no
[00:33:39] action. I mean, we have 28 topics that
[00:33:42] we printed out here to talk about
[00:33:43] tonight of things that they say they're
[00:33:45] going to do and they're not doing it.
[00:33:47] And they're only talking about it
[00:33:48] because it's an election year. At some
[00:33:50] point, support has to turn into action.
[00:34:03] >> I'm really surprised this still this is
[00:34:03] still a talking point. Um, I would focus
[00:34:06] on results. you've seen results in the
[00:34:08] treasurer's office. Um, I see no reason
[00:34:12] that that this should be on the list
[00:34:14] during the next election process.
[00:34:22] So, I I asked this question in 2020. I
[00:34:22] think I worked with Greg and made the
[00:34:24] video for the candidates. I'm going to
[00:34:25] give a hot take here. I actually don't
[00:34:26] I'm not supportive of this right now.
[00:34:28] And the reason is that water
[00:34:29] independence is my goal for South Auna.
[00:34:31] I'm a South Auna resident. What we've
[00:34:32] done is we've negotiated a deal with
[00:34:34] Fountain Valley and Newport Beach to
[00:34:35] access our groundwater rights from 1924.
[00:34:38] That doesn't apply to South Lagoona. So
[00:34:40] my goal is we're working with Orange
[00:34:42] looking at our rights with Orange County
[00:34:44] Water District and my goal would be to
[00:34:46] be able to expand those rights to South
[00:34:48] Lagoona so that we get access to local
[00:34:51] reliable groundwater. So, I think we
[00:34:53] definitely need to look at at um
[00:34:56] establishing the voting rights, but I
[00:34:58] think my goal is water independence, and
[00:35:00] I think that it's it's more than a
[00:35:01] minute, but at the end of the day, what
[00:35:03] we want is local water reliability, and
[00:35:05] we don't want to be reliant on the
[00:35:06] Colorado River, which currently South
[00:35:08] Paguna is. So, I'm open to this, but I
[00:35:11] want to do it in a smart way where we're
[00:35:13] leveraging the groundwater rights and
[00:35:15] trying to expand those groundwater
[00:35:16] rights because at the end of the day, we
[00:35:17] want local water reliability in South A.
[00:35:27] Okay, the next question is question six
[00:35:27] on your list. Okay, we're going to go
[00:35:29] into some percentages
[00:35:31] and numbers, but um bottom line is South
[00:35:36] Auna gives city more money than the rest
[00:35:39] of town. So, property tax is by far the
[00:35:43] largest s source of revenue to the city
[00:35:45] government. With about 18% of Lagona's
[00:35:48] population, South Laguna contributes
[00:35:50] more than 20% of the property tax
[00:35:52] revenue the city collects annually.
[00:35:55] That means that South Auna is sending an
[00:35:56] extra $5 million in property tax to the
[00:35:59] city annually, beyond what would expect
[00:36:01] from 18% of the population. We do not
[00:36:04] believe that these revenues have been
[00:36:05] spent proportionally in South Auna, but
[00:36:08] have rather been largely directed
[00:36:10] towards other parts of the city. We have
[00:36:12] lobbyied for many years for such things
[00:36:14] as the acquisition of additional open
[00:36:17] space, the acquisition of the community
[00:36:19] garden, the installation of sidewalks
[00:36:21] and safe crossings along Coast Highway,
[00:36:23] and construction of public restrooms. We
[00:36:26] are pleased to be getting a new fire
[00:36:27] station, but we continue to feel that
[00:36:29] our express needs are being largely
[00:36:31] ignored. Do you agree that more of these
[00:36:34] tax revenues should be spent in the
[00:36:35] southern portion of the city? And if so,
[00:36:37] what do you think should be the
[00:36:39] priorities? Karen, you're up first.
[00:36:47] So, South Auna, you have an opportunity.
[00:36:47] The city has committed to update the
[00:36:48] general plan, and I would tie the
[00:36:51] subsidy flows to um the general plan.
[00:36:56] South Auna should be able to see its
[00:36:58] priorities in the budget, not just in
[00:37:01] meeting minutes. I would start with safe
[00:37:04] crossings, sidewalks, beach sanitation,
[00:37:06] fire and evacuation needs. Of course, um
[00:37:10] I want public capital improvement
[00:37:12] schedule showing the cost, the funding
[00:37:14] source and the delivery date for each of
[00:37:17] the neighborhoods.
[00:37:20] I think you need to be aware of the
[00:37:23] budget, talk with your treasurer, and
[00:37:26] you also need to show up at the council
[00:37:28] meetings and make sure
[00:37:31] um that
[00:37:33] the general plan has a program that
[00:37:36] supports South Lagona and South Laguna's
[00:37:39] needs, then you have the legal teeth to
[00:37:42] hold the council's feet to the fire.
[00:37:44] Thank you.
[00:37:50] Yeah, thank you. Um, yeah, we have we
[00:37:50] have we have spent well, we spent sign
[00:37:53] significant money on the fire on the
[00:37:54] fire station. I'd be glad to see when it
[00:37:56] gets built is taking forever. Um, but I
[00:38:00] think for South Laguna, I mean, I've
[00:38:02] been walking down there and picking up
[00:38:03] trash like three times a week. So, I've
[00:38:05] gotten very familiar with South Laguna
[00:38:06] and kind of what goes on down there. And
[00:38:08] I personally think I mean apart from
[00:38:09] these property acquisitions we just
[00:38:11] talked about the Catalina properties but
[00:38:13] I think apart from that it just needs
[00:38:15] more it needs more enforcement and it
[00:38:17] needs more kind of visitor impact
[00:38:19] management because so proximate to the
[00:38:21] beach there and it's very predictable if
[00:38:24] you're out walking around that how
[00:38:25] people are going to treat the beach and
[00:38:27] how they're going to treat the
[00:38:28] neighborhoods and I think we need to
[00:38:28] spend more time on that. Um so that's
[00:38:31] that's mainly my focus.
[00:38:39] I've had several conversations with the
[00:38:39] South Lagoona Civic Association and
[00:38:42] various members, John Thomas and others,
[00:38:44] and uh I I think that it's an issue that
[00:38:46] should be dealt with and discussed. I
[00:38:48] can't say that I have all of the answers
[00:38:50] now, but what I do know now is that
[00:38:52] we're getting ready, as Karen mentioned,
[00:38:54] to enter into the update of the general
[00:38:56] plan, which also leads us to the LCP.
[00:38:58] And there will be a lot of new um
[00:39:01] opportunities within that effort to
[00:39:04] address a lot of um modern problems that
[00:39:07] we're having and different ways to
[00:39:08] manage that. A part what we're doing a
[00:39:11] little bit differently this time is
[00:39:12] we're actually going to um along with
[00:39:15] those updates is we're going to create
[00:39:17] an implementation strategy to make sure
[00:39:19] that the um efforts actually get done
[00:39:22] and just aren't uh reside in a document.
[00:39:32] Yeah, I think that there's a um few
[00:39:32] issues here that then would need to be,
[00:39:35] you know, corrected. Um is that one is
[00:39:37] that there has to be a transparency
[00:39:38] behind the numbers and how much money is
[00:39:41] then going to be allocated, how much
[00:39:42] money, the tax revenue that um the
[00:39:44] revenue that South Laguna is generating
[00:39:46] into the city and then how much is going
[00:39:48] to be given back and what's it going to
[00:39:49] be used for. um because right now that
[00:39:51] just seems to be the big question mark
[00:39:53] is how much selfun is being able to um
[00:39:55] receive and then obviously the
[00:39:57] infrastructure and the public safety and
[00:39:59] then towards the beaches since we
[00:40:00] purchased the beaches um would need to
[00:40:03] be the first priority to take care of
[00:40:04] that but most importantly once the money
[00:40:06] is allocated for it it needs to be
[00:40:09] finished and I think that that's the
[00:40:10] biggest gap right now that's happening
[00:40:12] is that there's a lot of conversation a
[00:40:14] lot of plans there's money allocated to
[00:40:15] something and then it's not the
[00:40:17] project's never finished we have a lot
[00:40:18] of examples that will be talked about
[00:40:20] today on that. So that would be my
[00:40:21] commitment um when on city council.
[00:40:31] >> Thank you. Um yes, I I I do agree more
[00:40:31] needs to be done. Um but I I don't think
[00:40:35] you would separate one part of the city
[00:40:37] from from another. I I think you put
[00:40:40] your money in areas where it you get the
[00:40:42] best return. Um there are a number of
[00:40:45] priorities in South Lagoon and what part
[00:40:46] of this question was where do you think
[00:40:48] the pri what do you think should be some
[00:40:50] of the priorities? Well clearly public
[00:40:52] safety that fire station needs to uh uh
[00:40:57] be done and completed and done very
[00:41:00] well. Um the hospital is a is a big
[00:41:03] item. Um and there's quite a bit in the
[00:41:06] environment that uh could be uh focused
[00:41:10] on parks. So,
[00:41:13] I'm hoping that if you feel like more uh
[00:41:17] needs to be done, it looks like um
[00:41:20] there's a lot in the hopper that could
[00:41:22] be done and I would support that those
[00:41:25] projects.
[00:41:35] That's a disproportionate spending in in
[00:41:35] regards to what's collected. And we know
[00:41:37] that in South Lagoona and there's this
[00:41:39] old saying, you snooze, you lose. So, we
[00:41:42] know that once the land is gone, it's
[00:41:45] gone. So, we do need to make a priority
[00:41:47] of making sure we get our gardens, our
[00:41:50] open space, and our parks because it's
[00:41:53] not going to be around forever and the
[00:41:55] values in the land. And this gives a
[00:41:57] great um quality of life to all of us as
[00:42:00] we walk and enjoy our neighborhoods. And
[00:42:03] a lot of the South Lagona Village has
[00:42:05] small yards and so these little parks
[00:42:08] and open space means the world to all of
[00:42:10] us. I know we all hike it. We all
[00:42:13] experience it. So that would be a
[00:42:14] priority and putting those tax dollars
[00:42:16] since it's coming from us. It should go
[00:42:19] back to us and helping our quality of
[00:42:21] life.
[00:42:28] So, it's exciting that we're going to
[00:42:28] have one of our forest fire stations is
[00:42:30] going to be seismically sound. That'll
[00:42:31] be South Lagoon. But I think the biggest
[00:42:33] challenge in South Lagona is visitor
[00:42:35] impacts. I grew up there and when I grew
[00:42:37] up going to the beach at West Street, it
[00:42:38] was a totally different environment that
[00:42:40] exists today. I think the cause of that
[00:42:42] are two is twofold. One, social media.
[00:42:44] Number two is just all the development
[00:42:45] in Irvine and the Inland Empire. Now,
[00:42:47] they're coming to this beach. What we've
[00:42:49] done over the past four years is double
[00:42:50] the number of park rangers. I think we
[00:42:52] probably have to continue to increase
[00:42:53] the number of park rangers cuz at the
[00:42:55] end of the day with the coastal
[00:42:56] commission policies that exist and I
[00:42:58] know the mayor is working on that with
[00:42:59] the executive director of the coastal
[00:43:01] commission. We really need to have more
[00:43:03] enforcement and so doubling them is a
[00:43:05] good start but I think we need to
[00:43:06] continue looking at expanding
[00:43:08] enforcement expanding um we've tripled
[00:43:10] the trash pickup in South Laguna that
[00:43:12] has made an difference. I think it can
[00:43:14] we can always do more but I really think
[00:43:16] that at the end of the day as a South
[00:43:17] Auna resident for me visitor impacts are
[00:43:19] the biggest um effect on our quality of
[00:43:22] life and also I think we can make a
[00:43:24] village green park we can do a um
[00:43:26] improvements there to can make it
[00:43:28] consistent with the character.
[00:43:38] I mean the gaslighting from the
[00:43:38] incumbents is out of control. I go to
[00:43:41] the beaches here in South Lena. I hike
[00:43:42] our trails. They're not spending the
[00:43:45] money. They're they marketed South
[00:43:47] Lagoona or allowed the marketing of
[00:43:48] South Lagoona from Visit Lagona for the
[00:43:51] past four years and it took a resident
[00:43:54] to dump trash at city hall for them to
[00:43:57] finally understand the resident the
[00:43:59] visitor impacts that were happening on
[00:44:00] the beaches. The fact that Alex grew up
[00:44:03] here and it took multiple years for him
[00:44:05] to finally understand that ensued saying
[00:44:07] that she walks the beaches or and picks
[00:44:09] up trash three days a week. yet they
[00:44:12] still haven't done anything is it blows
[00:44:14] my mind. I can't I just don't understand
[00:44:16] why they've allowed it to reach a
[00:44:18] boiling point where residents are
[00:44:20] fighting with people in the streets over
[00:44:22] parking to finally wake up and
[00:44:24] understand that this is a problem. So
[00:44:26] what would I do? I would focus on having
[00:44:29] more enforcement in South Laguna park
[00:44:31] rangers. There's one park ranger from
[00:44:33] Victoria Beach to Three Arch Bay.
[00:44:35] Imagine the the call times on that.
[00:44:38] There's no way that we can enforce the
[00:44:40] law at these beaches and we continue to
[00:44:42] get overrun with people from from the
[00:44:45] from inland. And that's okay that people
[00:44:47] come and visit our beaches, but we have
[00:44:48] to understand how to manage it and they
[00:44:50] don't.
[00:45:00] Okay. So, we're going to double down ask
[00:45:00] a question about South Luna Beaches.
[00:45:02] First of all, I wanted to take just a
[00:45:04] quick shout out to our local lifeguard
[00:45:06] department. This summer has been
[00:45:08] bonkers. And
[00:45:19] as a guy that spends more time than he
[00:45:19] should in the water
[00:45:21] knowing what the surf has been like this
[00:45:23] year, I think it's been great that we've
[00:45:25] had our local agency running South Arena
[00:45:28] Beaches because I think it might have
[00:45:30] been a different story if they weren't.
[00:45:32] But uh so this is question seven.
[00:45:36] In 1986, one year prior to the city's
[00:45:40] annexation of South Laguna, the county
[00:45:43] completed an environmental impact report
[00:45:45] on the effects of opening South Auna's
[00:45:47] beaches to the public. The EIR detailed
[00:45:50] serious infrastructure related
[00:45:52] deficiencies, including sanitation,
[00:45:55] parking, and pedestrian safety. After
[00:45:58] the annexation, the county retained
[00:46:00] ownership of the beaches and over the
[00:46:02] ensuing four decades, despite the
[00:46:04] burgeoning number of visitors and
[00:46:05] beaches to the beaches rather, little
[00:46:08] was done to address the problems. The
[00:46:10] city now controls these beaches, and we
[00:46:13] strongly believe the deficiencies of
[00:46:15] infrastructure should finally be
[00:46:17] addressed. Approximately 40% of the
[00:46:20] city's hotel occupancy tax is collected
[00:46:23] in South Lagona. Since this tax is
[00:46:25] intended to mitigate some of the
[00:46:27] consequences of out of town visitors
[00:46:29] impacts on the community, we believe
[00:46:31] more of these funds should be directed
[00:46:33] our way. Do you agree we need to do more
[00:46:38] for the South Auna beaches? If so, and
[00:46:40] what do you think the priorities should
[00:46:42] be and how should they be funded? Mark,
[00:46:44] you're up first.
[00:46:49] This is actually what's being addressed
[00:46:49] right now with our new partnership with
[00:46:51] Coastal Commission regarding the um the
[00:46:56] difference between our uh infrastructure
[00:46:58] and capacity and how we can better
[00:47:00] manage it. And when the Coastal Act was
[00:47:03] created in the early 70s, they just
[00:47:05] didn't really anticipate all of the
[00:47:07] pressures that we're dealing with today.
[00:47:09] And it we just the coastal commission
[00:47:12] has agreed to look at this in a new way
[00:47:14] and understanding our modern challenges
[00:47:16] and pressures and I do believe through
[00:47:18] this new effort that we're doing which
[00:47:20] we've called stewardship effort and the
[00:47:22] framework around that that we are going
[00:47:24] to be able to um have solutions to
[00:47:27] mitigate a lot of these uh pressures.
[00:47:40] I found it interesting that since um
[00:47:40] 1982, our city has had enormous
[00:47:44] development going up around us. Alisa,
[00:47:46] Viejo, Irvine, Spectrum, Laguna, Niguel,
[00:47:51] we weren't at the development agreement
[00:47:53] table. We weren't negotiating on our own
[00:47:56] behalf to get some of these funds to get
[00:47:59] these impacts mitigated. I think it's
[00:48:03] time for us to go back to these
[00:48:06] development agreements and when they're
[00:48:08] reopened for more development, take
[00:48:10] another bite at the apple. We need an a
[00:48:13] city attorney and a city manager and a
[00:48:16] community development director that when
[00:48:18] these developments are happen happening
[00:48:20] in our neighboring cities that we get
[00:48:22] noticed and that we actually negotiate
[00:48:26] for some of the funds that those cities
[00:48:28] are receiving. Thank you.
[00:48:37] Thank you. Yes, definitely regional um
[00:48:37] agreements and regional solutions. We
[00:48:40] need to be part of what's going on
[00:48:43] inland so that we can fund the important
[00:48:46] infrastructure that we need. Um spending
[00:48:50] should be on with an emphasis on
[00:48:53] anything related to public safety uh and
[00:48:57] infrastructure. And I I know we
[00:48:59] definitely need more facilities to
[00:49:02] accommodate the increase in uh
[00:49:05] attendance at our beaches. Thank you.
[00:49:15] >> Yeah, I think um you know, first of all,
[00:49:15] we should expand the restroom at
[00:49:16] Thousand Steps. I think we have a
[00:49:18] oneperson restroom in there. We should
[00:49:19] expand that. That would be helpful. And
[00:49:21] of course, we're going to have the
[00:49:21] restrooms and the fire station. But, you
[00:49:24] know, I don't agree with some people
[00:49:25] some of these comments up here because,
[00:49:27] you know, the best way to see what's
[00:49:28] happening in South Lagona is to walk and
[00:49:31] be in South Lagona and and help out.
[00:49:34] Like I I put in like, you know, ask
[00:49:35] Laguna tickets all the time on stuff I
[00:49:37] find down there. I don't say much about
[00:49:39] it, but I do it all the time. And that's
[00:49:40] the best way to know. I'm not going to,
[00:49:42] you know, sit around and complain and
[00:49:44] not bring solutions. We last year we did
[00:49:46] a surge, summer before last, we did a
[00:49:48] surge program. This summer we were
[00:49:49] incrementally better. And I expect we
[00:49:51] get incrementally better, you know, each
[00:49:53] year. This is a big problem to solve and
[00:49:55] it doesn't happen easily. It happens
[00:49:57] over time. And I like the work that
[00:49:58] Clark's been doing as well on kind of
[00:50:01] thinking about this the city from more
[00:50:03] of a strategic strategic perspective. So
[00:50:06] I think we'll continue to get
[00:50:07] incrementally better. And if you if you
[00:50:09] just want to complain and not do
[00:50:10] anything, then you're not going to get
[00:50:11] any better.
[00:50:19] >> Yeah. Yeah, I think we should be looking
[00:50:19] at every revenue source possible. One of
[00:50:20] the big best ways to capture revenue
[00:50:22] from the visitors is through parking
[00:50:24] rates. Those are set by the coastal
[00:50:26] commission and so we just recently were
[00:50:27] able to increase the parking rates. We
[00:50:29] should look at allocating um that more
[00:50:31] park rangers and more ways to mitigate
[00:50:33] the impacts in South Lagoona. Um to
[00:50:36] Karen Martin's point, which I totally
[00:50:37] agree with, we need to be up at the
[00:50:39] table when there's an environmental
[00:50:41] impact report as part of a development
[00:50:43] agreement for in a neighboring
[00:50:44] community. We need to try to capture
[00:50:46] that money because there is going to be
[00:50:48] an impact on Laguna Beach. We've seen
[00:50:50] that firsthand over the past two decades
[00:50:52] as everyone around us has developed and
[00:50:55] those people are all using our beaches.
[00:50:57] One example of that is the Laguna Hills
[00:50:59] Mall that's being developed. We were
[00:51:01] able to be a part of the negotiating
[00:51:02] table there and capture some of that
[00:51:04] money. Um, and I'm hoping that we're
[00:51:06] able to get that this year, if not next
[00:51:08] year. It depends on the timing and the
[00:51:09] conditions of approval, but that's a
[00:51:11] great uh opportunity to put money into
[00:51:13] South Auna, which I think is
[00:51:15] experiencing the most of the day
[00:51:17] trippers from these developments.
[00:51:26] Um, so I'm I'm a bit confused on the
[00:51:26] deflection on the residents to be
[00:51:28] responsible for all things South Lagona
[00:51:31] beaches. Um, and talking about
[00:51:34] conversations to be had. So, the county
[00:51:36] gave us what, $22 million in 2023 that
[00:51:40] was supposed to last 10 years um to be
[00:51:42] able to take care of the beaches making
[00:51:43] that purchase. It's now 3 years later
[00:51:46] and there's only 12 million left with a
[00:51:49] projection of 9 million to be left by
[00:51:50] the city's budget of June of next year.
[00:51:53] So, first we need to understand where
[00:51:55] has that money been spent? Um how has it
[00:51:57] been used? Has it gone to anything for
[00:51:59] facilities, infrastructure, etc. that we
[00:52:01] need that we currently need in South
[00:52:03] Lagona? not inside conversations for
[00:52:05] future, but what can we do to improve
[00:52:07] South Lagona right now? And I definitely
[00:52:09] agree that if um the uh divide of hotel
[00:52:13] tax needs to be equitable between South
[00:52:15] and North Lagona, if you guys are having
[00:52:17] 40% of the tax, it only makes sense that
[00:52:19] part a good amount of the tax goes to
[00:52:21] taking care of the beaches and the
[00:52:22] public safety infrastructure facility,
[00:52:24] the restrooms, everything that needs to
[00:52:26] be done on the facility's master plan.
[00:52:28] If you fund it, you finish it.
[00:52:36] The only thing I'll correct there on
[00:52:36] you, Ashley, is it was 22 million over
[00:52:39] 20 years. They thought that they were
[00:52:41] going to have that money for 20 years.
[00:52:42] That money is going into the general
[00:52:44] fund. That money will be gone by 2030.
[00:52:46] They did not have a plan when they took
[00:52:48] over the beaches. Uh at the time, Mayor
[00:52:51] Sue Kemp was the mayor that approved
[00:52:53] that. That's a huge problem and it goes
[00:52:56] to a larger problem of not having a plan
[00:52:59] when they try to execute on any of
[00:53:01] their, you know, lofty goals. They
[00:53:03] wanted to put a parking garage in the
[00:53:04] back lot. The residents didn't want a
[00:53:06] parking garage. That's where they were
[00:53:07] expecting to get the funding to pay for
[00:53:10] uh taking over the South Dakota beaches.
[00:53:12] Now, I do agree, James. It's great that
[00:53:14] we do have our uh lifeguards that I I've
[00:53:18] grown up with that we all recognize that
[00:53:19] we know that know the coes in and out
[00:53:21] protecting our beaches. But if it
[00:53:23] doesn't make financial sense, then it
[00:53:25] doesn't make financial sense. So what
[00:53:27] would I do if uh you know to offer
[00:53:29] solutions to solve the problem?
[00:53:31] Obviously it starts with enforcement.
[00:53:33] Obviously it starts with setting a
[00:53:34] standard when people come to our
[00:53:35] beaches. A lot we have the data of where
[00:53:38] these people where people are coming
[00:53:39] from. A lot of them are coming from just
[00:53:42] over the hill. Lisa Vjo, Lagun Miguel
[00:53:43] and Dana Point because of social media.
[00:53:46] This council did not understand the
[00:53:48] power of social media and they continued
[00:53:49] to allow it to promote and market the
[00:53:52] beaches. These are small community
[00:53:54] beaches.
[00:54:09] >> Hello.
[00:54:09] Stewardship. I'm hearing that a lot.
[00:54:12] It's a great buzzword and an idea, but
[00:54:15] that's not what's happening. This week,
[00:54:17] like Ashley said, a special interest
[00:54:19] group specializing in tourism pledged
[00:54:22] $100,000 to the incumbents. And these
[00:54:24] incumbents approved a 10-year
[00:54:27] multi-million dollar contract to do
[00:54:30] what? To attract more tourism. And so we
[00:54:36] we had our county taking care of these
[00:54:38] beaches at their cost. and their
[00:54:40] liability and then we take it over and
[00:54:44] then now we've got a problem. And so I
[00:54:46] think that goes to what my colleagues
[00:54:48] are saying. There's been no plan, no
[00:54:50] foresight. And you're right, we do have
[00:54:52] a sanitation problem at our beaches and
[00:54:55] it should be handled and we have the
[00:54:57] money and it should be a priority and we
[00:54:59] got to stop marketing and telling people
[00:55:01] where to find us and stop using the word
[00:55:04] stewardship because it's just a
[00:55:06] buzzword.
[00:55:17] Okay, this next question is question
[00:55:17] three. Has to do with parking. Um, also
[00:55:21] has to do with the rewrite of the
[00:55:23] general plan.
[00:55:25] Uh, the city has embarked on revision of
[00:55:27] its general plan and we understand that
[00:55:29] consideration is being given to reducing
[00:55:32] long-standing requirements for parking
[00:55:35] related to various commercial uses. As
[00:55:37] you know, the existing parking
[00:55:39] requirements have been the one have been
[00:55:41] one of the principal means by which the
[00:55:43] city limits the intensity of use and
[00:55:46] density of development. We fear that a
[00:55:48] reduced parking requirement may
[00:55:50] encourage businesses owners to try and
[00:55:52] intensify the use of their properties,
[00:55:54] thus leading to more cars entering the
[00:55:56] city and to even greater pressure on the
[00:55:58] city itself to provide additional
[00:56:00] parking for visitors. What means do you
[00:56:02] think the city should introduce into the
[00:56:04] general plan or into its zoning code to
[00:56:06] ensure that this does not happen? Laura,
[00:56:10] you're up first.
[00:56:13] >> Oh, thank you. Well, um, simply put, I
[00:56:17] would not support reducing the parking
[00:56:19] requirements um,
[00:56:22] if it's transferring the the private
[00:56:25] businesses parking uh, into neighbor
[00:56:28] into neighborhoods. Um, I just it just
[00:56:31] doesn't make sense to me.
[00:56:39] >> Yeah. When this came up at council, I
[00:56:39] think I made myself pretty clear that I
[00:56:40] would rather um have use a parking
[00:56:44] management plan and move people into a
[00:56:46] parking management plan, but that would
[00:56:48] not include reducing the standards. It
[00:56:50] would be a subsequent effort.
[00:56:58] >> Yeah, I think I see it differently. um
[00:56:58] wig sandwiches a is a perfect example.
[00:57:00] Under our grandfathered parking
[00:57:01] requirements, they have I believe three
[00:57:03] or four spaces on the site. Under the
[00:57:05] when they went from a wig store, which
[00:57:07] is a retail use, to a sandwich shop,
[00:57:09] which is a restaurant use, that would
[00:57:11] have required 14 parking spaces. What we
[00:57:14] want are adapted reuses of historic
[00:57:16] buildings like wigs. That's a perfect
[00:57:18] example of that. And as a result of the
[00:57:21] lack of our um the parking requirements
[00:57:23] that have not kept up with today, we
[00:57:25] were in a situation where it took three
[00:57:27] years for that to get approved. That
[00:57:29] was, you know, prior to my time on on
[00:57:31] the council. And so I think we should
[00:57:33] look at modernizing our parking
[00:57:35] requirements and and um so that we can
[00:57:37] have more adaptive reuses and great
[00:57:39] local businesses like wigs and that
[00:57:41] allows us to retain the historic charm
[00:57:43] of the community.
[00:57:51] Thank you. Um, this is my favorite type
[00:57:51] of question about the general plan. Um,
[00:57:53] I think what really needs to happen is
[00:57:56] we need to do a capacity study. Once we
[00:57:58] have a capacity study, we will know how
[00:58:01] much
[00:58:03] our beaches, our roads can carry. When
[00:58:07] we know what our carrying capacity is,
[00:58:09] we have the data that can we can use
[00:58:12] with the coastal commission and some of
[00:58:14] the other agencies.
[00:58:17] Right now, what I've seen is study after
[00:58:19] study after study. These studies are not
[00:58:23] connected to the general plan. That
[00:58:25] means they have no teeth. They're just
[00:58:27] studies. We did the greenhouse gas. We
[00:58:30] did a a track a parking management study
[00:58:34] in North Lagona and and the village, but
[00:58:38] the studies are just sitting there. They
[00:58:40] have not got their teeth. They will get
[00:58:42] their teeth when they're connected to
[00:58:44] the general plan.
[00:58:53] This is a really complicated issue and I
[00:58:53] think when you look at it like
[00:58:54] realistically if we just loosen up the
[00:58:56] parking requirements like what Alex is
[00:58:57] saying which is a noble reason for
[00:58:59] helping businesses like wigs where are
[00:59:01] people going to park? They're going to
[00:59:03] go into the neighborhoods. So without a
[00:59:05] a holistic plan looking at all potential
[00:59:07] sites in South Lagona. Well, what do we
[00:59:09] need to do now? Now, it sounds like we
[00:59:11] have to start negotiating with the
[00:59:12] hospital because that's one site that we
[00:59:14] could use for parking for all the staff
[00:59:16] and the different businesses in South
[00:59:17] Lagona because without looking at
[00:59:19] everything from a holistic perspective,
[00:59:21] if you just loosen the parking
[00:59:22] requirements or don't have the con uh
[00:59:24] comprehensive parking management plan,
[00:59:26] the staff are just going to start
[00:59:27] parking to the neighborhoods, which
[00:59:28] they're already doing. And I'm sure some
[00:59:30] of you residents here tonight nodding
[00:59:32] your heads already feel that pain of
[00:59:34] them going all the way up uh the roads
[00:59:36] up to like uh you know, Summit. So, we
[00:59:39] need to have a a complete plan. We'll
[00:59:41] probably have to talk to the hospital
[00:59:42] because that is a site where there is uh
[00:59:44] underutilized parking and we need to
[00:59:45] make sure that the staff of the
[00:59:48] businesses are not parking in the
[00:59:49] neighborhoods and they're parking in a
[00:59:51] in a dedicated lot.
[00:59:59] >> I agree with Alex um primarily. I mean,
[00:59:59] when you think about So, we haven't had
[01:00:01] a overdevelopment problem in this town.
[01:00:03] and I've been on the council for a while
[01:00:04] and the only thing that's gotten
[01:00:05] developed was the White House became
[01:00:07] Finny's and Taco Bell became the taco
[01:00:09] stand and PJ's BJ's Pizza became Better
[01:00:12] Bus. But I don't think we have a problem
[01:00:14] with that necessarily because we we have
[01:00:16] really small lots. There's not much
[01:00:18] consolidation at all. There's not much
[01:00:19] development. Um but the other thing on
[01:00:21] council, you have to keep all your
[01:00:22] plates spinning. Like people ask us,
[01:00:24] well, we have too many vacancies. Well,
[01:00:26] one of the reasons we have vacancies is
[01:00:27] our parking requirements are really
[01:00:28] stringent. And so it's it's we're caught
[01:00:30] in this very difficult situation where
[01:00:32] we don't have a lot of park and we don't
[01:00:34] build a lot of parking, but in order to
[01:00:36] get businesses in here and prevent
[01:00:37] vacancies, parking is one of the
[01:00:39] obstacles. So these are one of these are
[01:00:40] the hard things that we need to to
[01:00:42] solve. And you know, Mark and I have
[01:00:44] been talking about, you know, um parking
[01:00:46] management program and how exactly way
[01:00:48] to implement that. So we need to do some
[01:00:49] more thinking on it. Coastal is not very
[01:00:51] helpful with us. Um so we have to figure
[01:00:54] out a different way.
[01:01:01] So, the the latest downtown specific
[01:01:01] plan I saw with 600 residents is
[01:01:04] downtown allowed for half a parking
[01:01:06] space per residence. Now, I don't know
[01:01:08] about you, but I don't drive half a car.
[01:01:12] So, I just don't think it's very
[01:01:13] logical. And when you walk around, you
[01:01:15] see all the empty parking spaces at the
[01:01:17] at at Gellson's and the empty parking
[01:01:20] lot that the Montage has and the empty
[01:01:23] parking at the hospital. I don't think
[01:01:25] we've been very good through our
[01:01:26] government working with private um land
[01:01:29] owners on utilizing the parking that we
[01:01:31] already have and this um the incumbents
[01:01:35] took 50 parking spaces away from the
[01:01:37] prominade which is it's great to have a
[01:01:39] prominade but what was the domino effect
[01:01:41] of it and so we should not be looking at
[01:01:44] projects in isolation because there's a
[01:01:47] domino effect by every decision this
[01:01:49] government makes. Thank you.
[01:02:00] So I think what's most important when it
[01:02:00] comes to the parking decision or any
[01:02:01] decision is that we have to break the
[01:02:05] habit within city hall where decisions
[01:02:08] of changing the general plan or you know
[01:02:11] anything regarding zoning etc is based
[01:02:13] off of feeling. Um it has to be based
[01:02:15] off the data and now the word data is
[01:02:17] being used quite a bit but yet none of
[01:02:19] us have ever really seen it have we? So,
[01:02:21] um, similar to what Nick and what Karen
[01:02:24] said is that before we make any
[01:02:26] decision, we need to understand what is
[01:02:28] the parking demand, the traffic, the
[01:02:29] safety, the evacuation, the neighborhood
[01:02:31] impact. We don't want to make any
[01:02:33] decision where it causes more spillover
[01:02:34] in to our neighborhoods. They're already
[01:02:36] super congested as we all know. Um, so
[01:02:39] we just need to weigh the full community
[01:02:41] impact um before we make any decision
[01:02:43] just based off of a developer having a
[01:02:45] problem.
[01:02:59] Okay, so this is question 19.
[01:02:59] Goes back to the beaches, but probably
[01:03:01] the most problematic portion for those
[01:03:04] of us who don't own a house close to the
[01:03:06] beach or for those of us that do. The
[01:03:09] beaches of South A are ever under
[01:03:12] everinccreasing pressure from visitors.
[01:03:14] One of the worst problems for visitors
[01:03:16] and residents alike is the lack of
[01:03:18] public restrooms in key areas of South
[01:03:20] Lagona from West Street to the south of
[01:03:22] the hospital. This is a public health
[01:03:24] issue for visitors and residents who use
[01:03:26] our beaches and parks and it is an
[01:03:28] annoyance and public health issue for
[01:03:30] owners of properties near the beaches.
[01:03:33] While we understand that two public
[01:03:34] restrooms will be a part of the new fire
[01:03:36] station number four, we do not believe
[01:03:38] they will be nearly sufficient to
[01:03:40] address the problem. Would you support
[01:03:42] city action to provide additional public
[01:03:44] restrooms in South Aena? And if so,
[01:03:46] where do you think they should be
[01:03:47] located? Alex, you're up first.
[01:03:51] >> Yeah. So, as as you said, James, I think
[01:03:53] the having the the restrooms at the new
[01:03:56] fire station, that's going to be a
[01:03:57] positive impact. I think that the next
[01:03:59] logical place would be the um if we're
[01:04:02] able to acquire the lots on Catalina for
[01:04:04] a reasonable price, but as I said in my
[01:04:06] remarks before, we have to do that based
[01:04:08] on the an appraisal and the fiscal in a
[01:04:10] fiscally responsible way. I think that's
[01:04:12] also a logical place for a uh for a
[01:04:15] public restroom. Um, but definitely want
[01:04:18] to hear resident input about where the
[01:04:19] right places are going to be because we
[01:04:21] also you have to look at it from the
[01:04:22] other perspective of there's the public
[01:04:24] health problem, but there's also the
[01:04:25] fact that putting restrooms in
[01:04:27] neighborhoods can have an impact there.
[01:04:28] So, we have to look at it in a really
[01:04:30] strategic way. There's not an easy
[01:04:31] solution to it. So, it's one that um I
[01:04:34] don't have a a really clear answer about
[01:04:36] exactly where they should go, but I want
[01:04:38] to hear from residents about how we can
[01:04:39] do it in a really responsible way that
[01:04:42] um that mitigates the negative impact.
[01:04:51] Thank you. I I really like that idea,
[01:04:51] Alex. Definitely got to get the resident
[01:04:53] input. Seems logical to me that you
[01:04:56] would want to put restrooms
[01:04:58] um near access points to the beaches,
[01:05:02] the fire station, of course, great
[01:05:03] start, but um also any place that's
[01:05:06] heavily trafficked, but you have to
[01:05:09] check with the residents first.
[01:05:20] So, if we look at where the restrooms
[01:05:20] currently are at, uh, starting in the
[01:05:22] south, we've got Thousand Steps down at
[01:05:24] the beach, one fire station, two more
[01:05:25] will be or couple will be coming online
[01:05:27] at Aliso and the Montage has at two
[01:05:30] different locations. I think if uh what
[01:05:33] we've noticed here is at all those
[01:05:34] locations where there are bathrooms,
[01:05:36] that's where there's heavy visitor
[01:05:37] traffic. So, we cannot be looking at
[01:05:40] putting a a bathroom in a residential
[01:05:42] neighborhood next to Village Green if we
[01:05:46] don't really understand the impacts of
[01:05:47] what that's going to mean to the
[01:05:49] residents. So, we have the data where we
[01:05:51] can track how many people are going into
[01:05:53] certain areas. This this council is just
[01:05:55] not using the data. So, we need to be
[01:05:56] looking at the specific areas that I
[01:05:58] just mentioned and seeing what the
[01:06:00] visitor impact is and the usage of the
[01:06:03] bathrooms and then sharing that
[01:06:05] information with the residents around uh
[01:06:07] West Street and letting them know, hey,
[01:06:09] if we do put this bathroom in, this is
[01:06:11] what the visitor impact could look like
[01:06:13] and then we can see if they're
[01:06:14] interested in doing it. My inclination
[01:06:16] is that they probably won't be, but I
[01:06:18] don't want to speak on behalf of the
[01:06:19] residents because they need to be part
[01:06:20] of the process.
[01:06:28] where restrooms are. We know that's
[01:06:28] where the people go. That is accurate.
[01:06:31] So, I would think that um we have
[01:06:34] parking at the hospital now and it would
[01:06:37] make sense to have some actual public
[01:06:39] restrooms there at the at the hospital.
[01:06:41] And hopefully in the future there'll be
[01:06:43] additional parking at that location. And
[01:06:45] I think that that would be a good a good
[01:06:47] spot for it. And again, wherever the
[01:06:50] restrooms go, you can count on people
[01:06:51] being there. So I think that we have to
[01:06:53] be very careful and make sure that this
[01:06:55] is a plan.
[01:07:05] So um we need to utilize the park empty
[01:07:05] parking garage at the hospital and see
[01:07:07] if we can't have some bathrooms. But if
[01:07:09] you've ever been to thousand steps, I
[01:07:11] don't know about you, by the time you
[01:07:13] walk above those thousand steps, you
[01:07:15] don't need to go to the bathroom
[01:07:16] anymore. So, I think we need to have
[01:07:18] some bathrooms closer to the beach, and
[01:07:21] we need to upgrade the ones that are
[01:07:23] there to make sure that they're not
[01:07:25] seeping nitrogen into the aquifers, and
[01:07:28] we need to upgrade the system so that
[01:07:30] they're environmentally friendly because
[01:07:33] if we put them in the neighborhoods,
[01:07:35] it's going to be an impact. And the
[01:07:37] people that need to use the beaches are
[01:07:39] the ones that are using the bathrooms.
[01:07:50] You know, bathrooms are interesting
[01:07:50] because I consider them anchor tenants.
[01:07:54] um everybody like and I think some of
[01:07:56] the struggling businesses could actually
[01:07:59] utilize them to attract people and um
[01:08:03] and I think the city could give some
[01:08:05] incentives to those property owners so
[01:08:08] that those bathrooms become a way to
[01:08:10] attract people to their restaurants and
[01:08:13] to um their shops. So, I will again say
[01:08:18] I think it's up to the residents, but
[01:08:20] just remember
[01:08:22] they'll need to see those bathrooms. So,
[01:08:25] if those bathrooms are closer to Coast
[01:08:27] Highway, I live very close to
[01:08:29] Riddlefield in North Lagona. Those
[01:08:31] bathrooms are used not just by
[01:08:33] beachgoers because we have plenty of
[01:08:36] bathrooms in North Laguna, but they're
[01:08:38] used by construction workers. They're
[01:08:40] used by the um Door Dash drivers, the
[01:08:43] Amazon drivers. They're used by so many
[01:08:46] other people other than um the the
[01:08:50] people that are utilizing Riddlefield
[01:08:52] for the baseball games. So, bathrooms
[01:08:54] are very important.
[01:09:01] >> Um there's no need for restrooms to go
[01:09:01] into neighborhoods. Um we just need to
[01:09:03] look at the highest demand areas and um
[01:09:06] utilize existing facilities to be able
[01:09:07] to add some. We don't need to buy new.
[01:09:09] Um, I come from obviously building
[01:09:11] restaurants and hotels and um, they're
[01:09:14] the most expensive thing to build. So,
[01:09:16] there's a lot of existing facilities
[01:09:17] like Joyce said that we can upgrade um,
[01:09:19] and utilize for restrooms.
[01:09:27] >> Yeah, I think I mentioned earlier we
[01:09:27] expand the restrooms at Thousand Steps.
[01:09:29] And, you know, we could also I don't
[01:09:31] know, we we used that Catalina property
[01:09:33] for the undergrounding and I don't know
[01:09:35] how well how well that worked as a
[01:09:36] staging. I know produced a lot of dirt,
[01:09:38] but we could maybe put if we could work
[01:09:39] something out with the property owner,
[01:09:41] even if he didn't want to sell at a
[01:09:42] reasonable price, we could probably put
[01:09:43] like a mobile, you know, those really
[01:09:45] nice mobile bathrooms there, or we
[01:09:47] could, you know, we can also put those
[01:09:48] at the hospital for the summer months.
[01:09:50] So, I think we do have some options. Um,
[01:09:52] you know, there's a vacant lot on Fifth
[01:09:54] Avenue. I don't know what goes on there,
[01:09:55] but we can maybe put one there if we can
[01:09:56] work out some kind of deal there. But I
[01:09:58] think, you know, I think we get some
[01:09:59] restaurants restrooms closer to Coast
[01:10:01] Highway and away from the residents.
[01:10:14] Okay. So, how many of you guys have
[01:10:14] never been to St. Catherine's before?
[01:10:16] Anybody? And so, setting up for this is
[01:10:19] the first time that I've really spent a
[01:10:21] lot of time here. So, this is newly
[01:10:23] acquired property for the city. Um, so
[01:10:26] this question has to do with this. This
[01:10:27] is question 27.
[01:10:30] Uh the Susie Cube is extremely popular
[01:10:33] and is overflowing with community
[01:10:35] activities and the expansion of city
[01:10:37] offices. Meanwhile, the Laguna Beach
[01:10:39] Community and Recreation Center, this
[01:10:42] spot is magn is a magnificent facility
[01:10:46] and approximately four times the size of
[01:10:48] the CCQ Center, but it is underutilized.
[01:10:51] In fact, there has even been some talk
[01:10:53] about flipping the property and using
[01:10:55] the proceeds for something else, but
[01:10:57] once it's gone, it's gone. And once
[01:10:59] those funds are spent, they are gone.
[01:11:02] Could some of the recreation programs at
[01:11:04] the Suzuk be offered here? Or could
[01:11:06] additional community programs be offered
[01:11:09] there?
[01:11:10] What would you do with this facility,
[01:11:14] Nick?
[01:11:20] Well, uh, when the facility was taken
[01:11:20] over in 2022, the dascese said it needed
[01:11:23] to be a community benefit. So, we should
[01:11:25] probably follow through with that and
[01:11:27] not flip it just to, as you said, you
[01:11:29] know, plug a plug a hole. Once that
[01:11:31] money's spent, it's spent. Um, what's
[01:11:34] concerning is back uh in 2023, there was
[01:11:37] no deep analysis of what they wanted to
[01:11:39] do with it. And, you know, uh, Council
[01:11:41] Member Kemp in 2025 asked for further
[01:11:43] analysis to know how much it was going
[01:11:44] to cost for them to spend it. I
[01:11:46] rewatched the facilities master plan
[01:11:48] video from last year. Alex wants to sell
[01:11:50] it to be able to then use it for Link
[01:11:52] Park to improve the facilities there. I
[01:11:55] don't think it's a good idea to sell it.
[01:11:56] They want to maybe buy rubies and then
[01:11:58] sell it off to a developer that maybe
[01:12:00] just donated a bunch of money to them or
[01:12:02] maybe another developer in town. I don't
[01:12:04] know. I don't think the residents need
[01:12:06] another hotel. What we need is the
[01:12:08] existing hotels to be redone. We need to
[01:12:11] make sure that this is a community
[01:12:12] benefit. Whether it's art classes,
[01:12:14] extensions of uh the Suzie Q, whether
[01:12:16] it's using this for a sports facility
[01:12:18] like volleyball practice, whether it's
[01:12:20] making sure that a grass field is
[01:12:22] actually used as a grass field and not a
[01:12:23] parking lot. I mean, I don't know why
[01:12:25] this is like crazy talk, but like the
[01:12:28] fact that there was no plan when they
[01:12:30] bought this building, although it was
[01:12:31] great that they bought it, but they
[01:12:33] didn't have a plan. We have to have
[01:12:34] plans for when we spend taxpayer money.
[01:12:46] Yeah. So, one of this goes back to the
[01:12:46] parking requirements question. One of
[01:12:47] the reasons why we haven't been able to
[01:12:49] use this to the extent we have wanted to
[01:12:51] is because of the parking requirements
[01:12:53] that we have as a city. It's why we
[01:12:54] should modernize the parking
[01:12:55] requirements because when you have a
[01:12:57] use, you have to follow the rules of a
[01:12:58] city, especially when it's a city um
[01:13:01] city facility. I think that we have to
[01:13:03] look at it really from a realistic
[01:13:05] standpoint of what we want to do here.
[01:13:06] And I like the idea of having a
[01:13:08] community center here, we don't have the
[01:13:10] money to really turn this into the
[01:13:12] worldass community center that we want
[01:13:14] it to be. So if there is an opportunity
[01:13:15] to figure out a way to look at, you
[01:13:18] know, selling off potentially a portion
[01:13:19] of it or doing a long-term ground lease
[01:13:21] where we creating a re revenue
[01:13:22] generating use, I totally get that. It's
[01:13:25] it's easy to just say we should turn
[01:13:26] this into a world-class facility with no
[01:13:28] downside, but we have to look at the
[01:13:30] trade-offs involved with that because we
[01:13:32] don't have the money to make those
[01:13:33] investments. So, I'm definitely open to
[01:13:35] how we can fully utilize this facility.
[01:13:37] I agree with Nick. It is frustrating.
[01:13:39] Um, but we have to deal with the parking
[01:13:41] requirements issue and we have to deal
[01:13:42] with the funding issue to get there.
[01:13:51] >> I don't
[01:13:51] Hello. Okay. I don't think our
[01:13:53] government should be a real estate
[01:13:55] broker buying flipping buying flipping
[01:13:58] like what we did with Tamo and other
[01:14:00] pieces of property. I mean, I think that
[01:14:02] the state law says once government
[01:14:04] actually owns real estate, then the two
[01:14:06] alternatives, if you're not if you're
[01:14:08] not going to make it a public open space
[01:14:11] or park, then you have to look at the
[01:14:13] affordable housing. And so, um, or give
[01:14:16] it to the state. So probably the most
[01:14:18] likely alternative use because there is
[01:14:20] a parking problem here and it is
[01:14:22] underutilized would be to look at
[01:14:24] affordable housing in the back and can
[01:14:26] you look at the front parcels to where
[01:14:28] it could be um I would get the
[01:14:31] government should not be developing it
[01:14:32] but could they develop um affordable
[01:14:35] forale units in the front and then
[01:14:37] underwrite the affordable units in the
[01:14:39] back but I don't think we should be
[01:14:41] buying and flipping buying and flipping.
[01:14:43] Thanks.
[01:14:53] Thank you. Um well, I think uh I
[01:14:53] certainly don't support uh selling the
[01:14:56] property. I think this is a this is and
[01:14:59] um was a unique opportunity. Um, I love
[01:15:02] the idea of using it for a community
[01:15:04] center and um, think that we can perhaps
[01:15:09] establish utilization and financial
[01:15:11] targets. um request a monthly or maybe a
[01:15:16] quarterly report on how we're doing with
[01:15:19] those targets and um follow through and
[01:15:23] maybe use this as in a way that it was
[01:15:26] intended um for recreation and as a
[01:15:30] community asset.
[01:15:40] Thank you. Um I think this is one of the
[01:15:40] most beautiful properties in Laguna
[01:15:41] Beach. Um I my mom worked a lot every
[01:15:45] and so I spent my life at um a community
[01:15:47] center on a basketball court. So this is
[01:15:50] very um fun to me. I would love for it
[01:15:52] to stay a community center because it is
[01:15:54] so special. Um but it has to make
[01:15:56] financial sense and most importantly the
[01:15:59] city is going to make a purchase then it
[01:16:01] has to be on what it's going to benefit
[01:16:03] the community. no matter what the
[01:16:04] decision needs to be on the residents,
[01:16:06] whatever needs to happen. Um I I would
[01:16:08] like it to be a community center. I do
[01:16:10] see that could be maybe split off um
[01:16:12] into maybe some different uses like
[01:16:14] affordable housing, which we can get
[01:16:15] into later in one of these questions. Um
[01:16:17] but I don't think saying the general
[01:16:19] plan is an excuse because we can't pick
[01:16:21] and choose when we want to use the
[01:16:22] general plan for our own narrative.
[01:16:30] >> Yeah.
[01:16:30] this community and as many beach
[01:16:32] communities u real estate you know
[01:16:34] sometimes a plan things don't fit
[01:16:36] perfectly into a plan and you have to
[01:16:39] measure the opportunities that come
[01:16:40] available I wasn't on council when Tammo
[01:16:44] came up or this property or the south
[01:16:46] beaches as a matter of fact but I do
[01:16:49] think that the councils prior to me had
[01:16:51] good intentions and I respect that and
[01:16:54] it's my job in my current position to
[01:16:56] manage those decisions that they made to
[01:16:58] the best of our ability. I do think that
[01:17:00] there are a lot of opportunities with
[01:17:03] this particular project or this property
[01:17:05] here. Uh I would keep an open mind if
[01:17:08] there were other um opportunities that
[01:17:10] came along. And uh I don't think, you
[01:17:13] know, I agree we're not in the business
[01:17:14] of flip-flop, flip-flop, flip-flop. But
[01:17:17] that's not what happened. uh a property
[01:17:20] was acquired, a better situation came up
[01:17:22] and the city council acted responsibly
[01:17:25] and uh took advantage of the better
[01:17:28] option.
[01:17:33] >> Yeah. I think how many of you guys went
[01:17:33] on a tour when we were thinking about
[01:17:35] buying this? We had these tours,
[01:17:36] remember? Yeah. So, we let we open it up
[01:17:38] and we had a number of tours so people
[01:17:40] could see what we were interested in
[01:17:41] buying and you know, we bought it for
[01:17:42] $23 million. It was probably worth $50
[01:17:44] million. They could have sold it to a
[01:17:46] developer and we could have had I don't
[01:17:47] know what here, but we made a good
[01:17:49] decision and I'm I'm pretty I'm happy
[01:17:51] with the decision. Is it a perfect
[01:17:52] recreation center? Holy no. But look at
[01:17:56] the room that we're in now. This gym is
[01:17:57] fantastic and there's other really great
[01:17:59] things about this facility. So, you
[01:18:01] know, it requires, you know, it's a
[01:18:03] financial decision. It's also a
[01:18:04] community decision. It's something that
[01:18:06] we need to weigh carefully what our
[01:18:07] option would be and what we want to see
[01:18:09] how this how we want this to turn out.
[01:18:10] Alex is 100% right is what holds back
[01:18:13] the uses is our parking plan. You know,
[01:18:15] all ad bad things come down to parking
[01:18:17] when you think about it. Just pretty
[01:18:19] much every problem every problem in
[01:18:21] Laguna Beach comes down to parking. So,
[01:18:23] this is no exception. But I think I do
[01:18:25] think this is a great this is a great
[01:18:27] property and you know, we'll see what to
[01:18:28] do going forward, but I think we'll do
[01:18:29] something smart.
[01:18:37] Um, on March 11th, 2025, council
[01:18:37] directed an artist workspace permitting
[01:18:39] effort for $180,000
[01:18:42] towards additional parking and options
[01:18:44] for a community fitness center as part
[01:18:46] of the CRC interim use update. The
[01:18:49] minutes established the direction, not
[01:18:52] completion.
[01:18:54] Then again, in July of 2026, the city
[01:18:56] bulletin also advertised temporary pump
[01:18:59] track.
[01:19:01] I think what we need to do is a room by
[01:19:03] room schedule, utilization, waiting list
[01:19:06] and accessibility and operating cost
[01:19:09] report. We need to test complimentary
[01:19:12] senior arts youth and meeting uses with
[01:19:15] trans transportation support. Compare
[01:19:18] public community partnership models and
[01:19:21] don't call the underutilized
[01:19:24] room surplus merely because no one has
[01:19:27] organized a workable program for it.
[01:19:38] Okay,
[01:19:38] question 21.
[01:19:40] So, as part of SLCA, South Civic
[01:19:43] Association, one of our pet projects has
[01:19:46] been the community garden. Um, hopefully
[01:19:49] everyone here has been there, enjoyed
[01:19:51] the space, maybe grow things there. Um,
[01:19:55] so this question has to do with that.
[01:19:56] The South Auna Civic Association has
[01:19:58] long maintained that the community
[01:20:00] garden park is is an asset not just to
[01:20:02] South Auna but to the entire city. We
[01:20:05] are committed to making the garden a
[01:20:06] permanent part of our community. To that
[01:20:08] end, we have been raising funds and
[01:20:10] giving pledges of support for 17 years.
[01:20:12] Do you support having the city fund the
[01:20:15] acquisition of the garden on its current
[01:20:16] site if it becomes available or even
[01:20:18] potentially a different location? If so,
[01:20:21] what steps would you take to make the
[01:20:23] acquisition happen? Nick, you're up
[01:20:25] first.
[01:20:33] This goes back uh I think it would be
[01:20:33] great for the community to be able to uh
[01:20:36] to take over the property. I think what
[01:20:37] this goes back to a larger problem of
[01:20:39] when we don't have money in the budget
[01:20:41] because of reckless spending happening
[01:20:42] in other parts of town when we really
[01:20:44] have a community good that we want to
[01:20:46] keep for South Auna residents and we
[01:20:49] don't have the money then we run into
[01:20:50] those issues. So we would need to be
[01:20:52] either seeking outside funding whether
[01:20:54] it's from state or federal dollars or
[01:20:56] whether it's looking into the community
[01:20:58] where we have a lot of people who are
[01:21:00] really interested in preserving property
[01:21:02] around town like with the community land
[01:21:04] trust but we can be looking at other
[01:21:05] properties like with the community
[01:21:07] garden. So we need to be making sure
[01:21:09] that these community assets that help
[01:21:12] represent parts of our community in
[01:21:14] parts of our town like South Lagoona. I
[01:21:16] don't think of South Laguna without the
[01:21:18] community garden. And so we need to make
[01:21:20] sure we protect these assets and don't
[01:21:21] let um these things slip from our hands
[01:21:24] because we decided to spend money uh
[01:21:27] frivolously and then didn't have the
[01:21:29] money when we really needed it.
[01:21:37] I think Ann and um Fred Lang did a
[01:21:37] beautiful job with the South Lagona
[01:21:39] Village general plan and that they allow
[01:21:42] for small lots, small cottages, setbacks
[01:21:46] all around and with that should come a
[01:21:49] garden and a park and that would require
[01:21:52] a p private public partnership and I
[01:21:55] think it would be a beautiful addition
[01:21:56] to our South Lagoona uh village.
[01:22:06] Um I definitely support keeping the
[01:22:06] community garden. I would want to first
[01:22:08] work with you guys and um learn I think
[01:22:12] I can't remember you said like 14 or 17
[01:22:13] years it's been being worked on. So, I'd
[01:22:15] want to know where the efforts have
[01:22:17] gone, um, where conversations have gone
[01:22:19] to, you know, not repeat those efforts
[01:22:22] if they didn't work out, but then try
[01:22:24] and see, um, you know, through through
[01:22:27] my experience being able to bring in um,
[01:22:29] nonprofit funding, bring in government
[01:22:31] funding, um, what we can do to be either
[01:22:33] to acquire the land or do a long-term
[01:22:35] lease because it is super important to
[01:22:36] South Lagoon and I would like to keep
[01:22:38] it.
[01:22:46] I'm a big supporter of the community
[01:22:46] garden. I think what's really cool about
[01:22:48] it is that it brings different
[01:22:49] generations of South Laguna residents
[01:22:51] together in our society today. We we
[01:22:53] need more of that. The problem that we
[01:22:55] have is we need to find this guy in
[01:22:57] Saudi Arabia. So if if anyone may
[01:23:00] challenge
[01:23:07] ago where he
[01:23:07] >> Yeah. But we talked about this the other
[01:23:09] day and we had that meeting and we we
[01:23:11] can't get he won't be willing to make an
[01:23:13] offer. That's my understanding.
[01:23:14] >> It's not that we have
[01:23:16] >> Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Sorry.
[01:23:18] >> He doesn't want to sell.
[01:23:19] >> He doesn't want to sell. So, I agree
[01:23:22] with um I think that we if I think we
[01:23:24] need to find a way to make it a reality
[01:23:26] because I think it is an important part.
[01:23:27] We had a the mayor and I had a good
[01:23:29] meeting with an and several of the
[01:23:31] residents um a multi-generational group
[01:23:33] about some strategies that we can employ
[01:23:36] to to get him to the table. Um but yeah,
[01:23:40] I think the problem is we need a willing
[01:23:42] seller and um if not, I think that the
[01:23:45] Catalina lots is a really good
[01:23:47] opportunity, but I I think that's a
[01:23:49] perfect spot for a garden where it is
[01:23:51] now.
[01:23:57] Yeah, I think we we were close to having
[01:23:57] what we thought was a deal a few years
[01:23:58] ago, right? And it turned out to be a
[01:24:01] scam and fortunately we caught it before
[01:24:03] we transferred any money and that's just
[01:24:05] the world we're living in. It's sick.
[01:24:06] It's just sick behavior. Um, but I don't
[01:24:09] know. I I don't I haven't heard anything
[01:24:11] about it lately. I know we did find the
[01:24:13] owner. I mean, I don't know if he's
[01:24:14] still there but where he is now, but we
[01:24:15] did find the owner and you know, I
[01:24:18] thought we had something. I don't know
[01:24:19] what it's for sale, if it's still for
[01:24:21] sale, what the price is. I don't I
[01:24:23] haven't heard anything about it. Um, we
[01:24:25] put money aside and we advanced that
[01:24:27] money as a council for the purchase, but
[01:24:29] that that whole thing kind of fell
[01:24:30] through. So, I'm not adverse to buying
[01:24:32] the buying it, but I'd like to see, you
[01:24:34] know, if we can find the guy again and
[01:24:35] how much is it and do some more homework
[01:24:37] on it.
[01:24:45] >> Thank you. Yes, I I really like the uh
[01:24:45] community garden park and um I I would
[01:24:48] support the city assisting in the
[01:24:51] funding effort um
[01:24:54] where they can um ideally
[01:24:57] facilitating the transaction maybe
[01:25:01] public pri setting up public private
[01:25:03] partnerships
[01:25:04] um but it's a wonderful asset to South
[01:25:07] Lona and I'd like to see us keep it.
[01:25:17] So, I'd take a little bit of an
[01:25:17] unconventional approach. I would state
[01:25:20] that the city would start to change the
[01:25:23] general plan land use designation to
[01:25:25] open space garden and change it in the
[01:25:27] zoning code. And um
[01:25:31] I'm sure the the property owner would
[01:25:33] show up and at that point we'd start
[01:25:37] we'd be able to get him to start
[01:25:38] negotiating.
[01:25:40] And if he
[01:25:43] works other cities do it other cities do
[01:25:46] it.
[01:25:47] Um
[01:25:50] so, um I'm sure you know it's it would
[01:25:54] be difficult for for this person to
[01:25:56] continue. Um I I am for private property
[01:25:59] rights. I do not think anybody should be
[01:26:02] um taken advantage of just because
[01:26:04] they're not here. But I do think we need
[01:26:07] to take a different approach. We've been
[01:26:08] working on it since 2009. Let's do
[01:26:11] something unconventional.
[01:26:21] And I know Karen knows this, but that
[01:26:21] would probably open us up to some pretty
[01:26:23] serious legal challenges. But there are
[01:26:25] other things that we can do.
[01:26:26] >> Only only if you did it. But if you
[01:26:29] >> Only only if you did it. But if you maybe
[01:26:30] >> used it. Yeah. But the we could I would
[01:26:33] be open to um considering eminent domain
[01:26:36] or other avenues. There's no doubt about
[01:26:37] it. I've had show um interest in this
[01:26:40] and I've had several conversations with
[01:26:42] Ann and some of the other folks and I've
[01:26:44] been a supporter of the community
[01:26:46] garden. That's no secret. Um so I do
[01:26:48] fully support it. Any time we can
[01:26:51] provide space that brings people
[01:26:52] together, I very supportive of that.
[01:27:04] All right, we're recording this you
[01:27:04] guys.
[01:27:10] Um, sorry. I'm not supposed My wife said
[01:27:10] I can't have any extemporaneous speaking
[01:27:12] up here, so I have to I have to maintain
[01:27:14] composure here. Um, so the next question
[01:27:17] is question 23. Um, we're going back to
[01:27:20] the beaches and we're going to talk
[01:27:22] about beach patrol. Sounds a little
[01:27:24] boring, but these are the guys that are
[01:27:27] actually
[01:27:29] dealing with dogs on the beaches. All
[01:27:31] the rest of the finer points of how the
[01:27:33] beach gets run. The officers of the
[01:27:36] beach patrol were originally intended to
[01:27:38] provide information and assistance to
[01:27:40] beachgoers as well as additional
[01:27:42] surveillance, supervision, and
[01:27:44] enforcement of ordinances pertaining to
[01:27:46] beaches. However, in 2021, the beach
[01:27:49] patrol officers were replaced by park
[01:27:51] rangers whose scope of responsibility
[01:27:54] has gradually widened with a consequent
[01:27:56] reduction in the amount of time they are
[01:27:59] actually patrolling on the sand,
[01:28:01] particularly on the more repo remote
[01:28:03] beaches of South Lagona. This has
[01:28:06] significant consequences for behavior on
[01:28:08] South Laguna's crowded beaches. Would
[01:28:10] you support restoring the beach patrol
[01:28:12] program and perhaps increasing the time
[01:28:15] the park rangers actually spend on the
[01:28:17] sand patrolling south of remote beaches
[01:28:20] and coes?
[01:28:22] Ashley, you're up first.
[01:28:25] >> Um yes, I am. Um for restoring beach
[01:28:28] patrol, I think first what needs to be
[01:28:31] done is looking at um the entire
[01:28:34] staffing for the departments. Um all
[01:28:36] departments really, but we'll just talk
[01:28:38] about park rangers right now. and um and
[01:28:41] patrol and see where they're being
[01:28:43] utilized um how they can be better
[01:28:45] utilized and how we can allocate the
[01:28:47] spending to have it where our beaches
[01:28:49] are being more patrolled and taken care
[01:28:51] of. Um you know, as Nick said earlier,
[01:28:53] there's only one that goes for a
[01:28:55] predominant amount of the beaches in
[01:28:56] South Lagona. That doesn't make sense,
[01:28:58] right? So, we need to be able to look at
[01:28:59] all of that and then um allocate it
[01:29:01] appropriately.
[01:29:09] I feel sorry for some of our staff
[01:29:09] members because there is a big
[01:29:11] difference between being a a beach
[01:29:13] patrol like a police person versus a
[01:29:16] park ranger. And I think it's also
[01:29:18] confusing to beachgoers because you come
[01:29:21] across a a beach a park ranger and you
[01:29:25] think they're more there forformational.
[01:29:27] So I think we need to really have um
[01:29:30] specific roles and without enforcement
[01:29:33] there's no point in having rules. So
[01:29:35] yeah, I think we need to think about the
[01:29:37] whole concept of um park rangers or
[01:29:41] beach rangers versus actual enforcement
[01:29:44] people because it's really not fair to
[01:29:47] the staff to make them wear two
[01:29:50] different hats all the time. So I'd like
[01:29:52] to see a better plan now that we have to
[01:29:55] control it and enforce it. that we need
[01:29:57] to step up and do just that.
[01:30:03] >> Yeah. I I don't know if everybody knows
[01:30:03] this, but we have private security at
[01:30:05] some of these beaches now. We have it at
[01:30:06] Thousand Steps. I think Moss and Woods
[01:30:09] has private security. And the reason we
[01:30:11] don't have beach patrols, and the police
[01:30:12] department will tell you this is those
[01:30:14] poor guys, they just got not literally
[01:30:16] got beat up, but they just got hassled
[01:30:18] and talked badly to and treated badly
[01:30:20] and they didn't have any enforcement.
[01:30:21] They couldn't do anything. They couldn't
[01:30:23] write a ticket, you know, they couldn't
[01:30:24] arrest anybody. So, you know, I'll take
[01:30:27] I'll take a beach patrol any day over
[01:30:29] just having uh or a park ranger any day
[01:30:32] over beach patrol because they're just
[01:30:33] so much more effective. And I spent the
[01:30:35] last two summers walking the beaches
[01:30:36] with the beach patrol and I see what
[01:30:38] they do and that's a rough job just for
[01:30:40] the just for the park rangers. The park
[01:30:42] rangers are wearing 30 pounds of gear.
[01:30:44] They're walking in the sand all day.
[01:30:46] They're writing a lot of tickets and
[01:30:47] they're doing a really really good job
[01:30:49] on enforcement. If you look at our
[01:30:50] enforcement numbers, we're way up this
[01:30:52] summer and so that's a that's a tribute.
[01:30:53] But the police department does not
[01:30:55] support uh um beach patrol. They'd much
[01:30:58] rather have uh you know park rangers and
[01:31:00] private security. They're more
[01:31:01] effective.
[01:31:10] >> Yeah, we do need to have um well like uh
[01:31:10] council member Kevin said the beach
[01:31:12] patrol obviously was good to have at the
[01:31:14] time but it they weren't effective and
[01:31:16] able to write tickets. So, we do need to
[01:31:17] have more private security, not just at
[01:31:19] Thousand Steps during the summertime,
[01:31:21] not just at Moss and Woods Cove. We need
[01:31:23] them at Aliso. We need them patrolling
[01:31:25] the other beaches. Growing up at
[01:31:27] Victoria Beach, we would always be
[01:31:29] worried about beach patrol catching us
[01:31:30] drinking near the volleyball courts. And
[01:31:32] so, over the last two summers, you
[01:31:36] rarely see them coming down to Victoria
[01:31:38] Beach. And that's a problem because
[01:31:39] once, you know, we don't want residents
[01:31:41] being, you know, feeling like they're
[01:31:43] having a look over their shoulder, but
[01:31:44] there needs to be a happy medium. And
[01:31:46] the tourists who come and enjoy our
[01:31:48] beaches need to understand that they
[01:31:49] can't get away with anything uh in South
[01:31:51] Lagona. So, we need to increase the
[01:31:54] enforcement during the day, during the
[01:31:55] summertimes. Uh they need to be able to
[01:31:58] be coordinating to uh better with the
[01:32:01] beach patrol. I don't think there's any
[01:32:02] real coordination right now. were not
[01:32:04] seeing when I did a ride along with
[01:32:05] beach patrol there was some talking with
[01:32:08] them you know there was some chitchat
[01:32:09] but they didn't really understand what
[01:32:11] was going on there was no data points
[01:32:12] being collected collected no KPI so we
[01:32:14] don't have any way to know what's
[01:32:16] successful what's not successful and
[01:32:19] where we can make improvements for the
[01:32:21] next summer
[01:32:30] >> thank you I'd get back to my capacity
[01:32:30] study um as long as we have a real true
[01:32:33] understanding of um what are the peak
[01:32:37] demands on for South Laguna? When are
[01:32:40] people going to these beaches and as
[01:32:43] part of that capacity study, we also
[01:32:45] need to understand the tides, how much
[01:32:47] beach is there, um how many people can
[01:32:50] fit. Um so I would say adopt a peak
[01:32:54] demand south Laguna patrol schedule and
[01:32:57] report it publicly. keep lifeguarding
[01:32:59] distinct from the ordinance
[01:33:01] of enforcement and compare uh
[01:33:06] redeployment and dedicated patrol clause
[01:33:08] before adding an overlapping unit on
[01:33:12] sand coverage is something that I grew
[01:33:15] up with in the North Laguna beaches and
[01:33:18] they wore shorts and little polo shirts
[01:33:21] and
[01:33:22] that's how they enforced and it worked.
[01:33:24] I realize it's a different day.
[01:33:34] >> Yeah. So, so beach patrol were not sworn
[01:33:34] officers and I don't think it's
[01:33:35] appropriate to have what we have with
[01:33:37] park rangers now is they're sworn
[01:33:38] officers and that's very important
[01:33:40] because when you're not a sworn officer,
[01:33:42] you're not allowed to make arrests. You
[01:33:43] can make a citizen's arrest, but that
[01:33:44] carries liability concerns. And so, I
[01:33:46] think having sworn park rangers is
[01:33:48] definitely the way to go. Now, the
[01:33:49] question is, can we reallocate the
[01:33:52] resources in in a way to make sure that
[01:33:54] they're focusing on the beaches? I think
[01:33:55] that's something that we definitely need
[01:33:56] to continue looking at. I think we need
[01:33:58] to look at, as I said before, we've
[01:34:00] doubled the number of park rangers over
[01:34:01] the last four years. We need to continue
[01:34:03] increasing the number of park rangers
[01:34:05] and ensure that they're really focusing
[01:34:06] on residents quality of life. I do like
[01:34:08] we have the security officers as well.
[01:34:10] I've seen them this summer at the beach
[01:34:12] where they sit at the steps um for
[01:34:14] different beaches. I think that that is
[01:34:16] an important role where it helps people
[01:34:18] understand they need to be on their best
[01:34:19] behavior when they're at the beaches in
[01:34:21] South Lagona. So, we need to continue
[01:34:23] investing in it, but I'm not supportive
[01:34:24] of having nonsworn officers on our
[01:34:26] beaches because I think that just
[01:34:27] creates a dangerous situation for
[01:34:28] everyone.
[01:34:35] >> Yes, I think the uh past councils made
[01:34:35] good decisions when they transferred
[01:34:37] from beach patrols to rangers. over the
[01:34:39] years as Alex uh had mentioned that we
[01:34:42] have increased the number of rangers and
[01:34:44] we've also added security. So I think
[01:34:46] that you know there's also as Karen said
[01:34:49] capacity right seasonal obviously we
[01:34:51] have more a lot more people in the
[01:34:53] summer months and that's not easily
[01:34:55] changed with staffing because you know
[01:34:58] the Rangers are full-time positions but
[01:35:00] I think that there are solutions. So, I
[01:35:02] you know, it's a a work in progress
[01:35:04] still, but I think that we're getting
[01:35:05] there, and some of our statistics, uh,
[01:35:07] show that.
[01:35:14] >> Thank you. Um, sure. I I definitely
[01:35:14] support increasing the city's physical
[01:35:17] presence um on South Laguna beaches,
[01:35:20] particularly in the uh more remote uh
[01:35:23] beaches and coes. Um,
[01:35:27] I also support having sworn officers on
[01:35:30] the beaches when possible. Um,
[01:35:33] and perhaps there looking at the program
[01:35:37] from a strategic standpoint. There would
[01:35:40] be a way to deploy people at entrance
[01:35:43] places and um, uh, scheduling might help
[01:35:47] with increasing the time of coverage um,
[01:35:51] on beaches.
[01:35:59] Okay, looking at the time, this is going
[01:35:59] to be the last question. And if I didn't
[01:36:01] get it asked,
[01:36:06] come on. You guys don't want to be here
[01:36:06] for 4 hours. Um, my kids have been
[01:36:10] pushing me to ask this question because
[01:36:11] they feel it's important. And it's
[01:36:13] interesting that this one resonates with
[01:36:16] them. This is question 28.
[01:36:18] This has to do with Gals.
[01:36:21] Since its closure several years ago, the
[01:36:23] former Gelson's market, the site of
[01:36:25] which includes parking for approximately
[01:36:27] 180 cars, has remained empty. We
[01:36:30] understand the lease is being retained
[01:36:32] by Gelson's in order to eliminate the
[01:36:34] possibility of competition from another
[01:36:36] market. They've hijacked the site. There
[01:36:40] is no incentive for Gellson's to change
[01:36:42] their position as the rest of the
[01:36:43] complex, which is suffering from not
[01:36:45] having an anchor market in that
[01:36:47] location, is under different ownership.
[01:36:51] This building had been South A's main
[01:36:53] grocery store for over 60 years. And how
[01:36:56] far back did it go?
[01:36:58] Do you know?
[01:37:00] >> Late 50s.
[01:37:01] >> Late 50s. When I was a kid, it was Alpha
[01:37:03] Beta in the 70s.
[01:37:06] >> Um, and we would like to have another
[01:37:08] market to replace it. It's where we go
[01:37:10] shop. It's where we want to shop. I
[01:37:12] don't want to go across town to another
[01:37:14] town to buy my groceries. Do you see an
[01:37:17] opportunity for the city to intervene in
[01:37:19] some way to ensure that the space does
[01:37:20] not continue to remain vacant and
[01:37:23] preferably to get another market into
[01:37:25] it? Sue,
[01:37:31] >> this is a big source of frustration for
[01:37:31] all of us. And so, you know, I I heard
[01:37:33] the other a couple weeks ago that
[01:37:35] Gellson's had laid off some people. So,
[01:37:38] I went down to Monarch and I noticed
[01:37:40] that the store manager was in the
[01:37:42] checkout lane. So, I got in his lane and
[01:37:44] I said, "Hey, I see you're checking. It
[01:37:46] looks kind of thin around here. You guys
[01:37:48] you guys had some um staff
[01:37:50] displacements." And he said, "Yeah." So,
[01:37:52] now I'm kind of wonder This makes me
[01:37:53] kind of wonder because we had a lot of
[01:37:55] lot of a lot of um uh go a lot of go at
[01:37:58] them that both the um the property
[01:38:01] management company and Gals's
[01:38:02] themselves. We've talked to them a lot.
[01:38:03] Dave's talked to them a lot and we can't
[01:38:05] get them off the dime. And I'm wondering
[01:38:07] now if maybe the the solution will work
[01:38:10] in our favor because they're they're
[01:38:11] carrying that for I don't know a million
[01:38:13] and a quarter every year with nothing no
[01:38:15] revenue coming in. And if they're having
[01:38:17] trouble with their stores elsewhere,
[01:38:19] maybe they'll have to relinquish that
[01:38:20] spot. So we'll have to see what happens.
[01:38:22] They're they're just very difficult or
[01:38:23] super annoying.
[01:38:29] Um
[01:38:29] so yes, there's things the city can do.
[01:38:32] I've dealt with, you know, dozens and
[01:38:35] dozens and dozens of commercial leases
[01:38:37] in my career. Um, and Gellson's um,
[01:38:41] currently just subleasased their spot in
[01:38:43] Carl'sbad to Ralph's. So, there is
[01:38:46] opportunity. They are looking to do
[01:38:48] that. There is, um, anti-competitive
[01:38:50] things our city attorney, multiple city
[01:38:52] attorneys can look into. Um, because
[01:38:55] most importantly is that $22 million a
[01:38:58] year of grocery spending is going to
[01:39:00] other cities. over $200 million a year
[01:39:03] is in leakage is going to other cities
[01:39:05] which means we're losing those sales tax
[01:39:08] and out of that is groceries, retail,
[01:39:10] gas, etc. So, it's really important that
[01:39:13] we fill our empty vacancies and
[01:39:15] especially Gelson. So, um it is a number
[01:39:17] one priority for me is to help fill all
[01:39:19] of our empty um empty storefronts and
[01:39:21] including that to make me a grocery
[01:39:22] store again because I would like to have
[01:39:24] a grocery store.
[01:39:36] Uh, I love Gilson's actually. I I do
[01:39:36] shop at Gelson's both in Newport and in
[01:39:38] Dana Point. And I shopped previously at
[01:39:41] the one um at the shopping center we're
[01:39:43] talking about. Um,
[01:39:47] I really think there's an opportunity to
[01:39:49] work with Gelson's. It depends on how
[01:39:52] it's presented to them. Um, if we're
[01:39:56] just going in and asking, hey, can you
[01:39:59] lease this to somebody else or why
[01:40:01] didn't you lease it for somebody else?
[01:40:03] We actually need to prepare a plan and
[01:40:05] give them some some strategies that they
[01:40:09] can use knowing full well that the city
[01:40:12] is going to uphold their end of the
[01:40:14] deal. Um, and I don't know that that
[01:40:17] we've actually done that. So, um, I
[01:40:22] think we need to pull some different
[01:40:24] tools out of our toolbox.
[01:40:33] >> The key here, as you said, there's no
[01:40:33] incentive for Gson's to change their
[01:40:35] position. Well, let me tell you, if a
[01:40:38] Tony Eisman can go and chain herself to
[01:40:41] a bulldozer to stop the Irvine company
[01:40:44] from building out our canyon, I think
[01:40:46] the will of the people of this town can
[01:40:49] gather together and uh let Gelson's know
[01:40:53] that we need a operating grocery store
[01:40:56] in that town. I believe in this town. I
[01:40:59] believe we have the wisdom and the
[01:41:00] strength and if Tony can go do that, we
[01:41:03] can all rally around and start telling
[01:41:05] Gellson senior management, get back into
[01:41:08] business or get someone else in
[01:41:10] business.
[01:41:18] >> Yes. Uh well, Joy is actually right
[01:41:18] there and I've had several uh
[01:41:20] conversations with members of the South
[01:41:22] Auna Civic Association and others down
[01:41:24] in South Auna and my recommendation was
[01:41:27] to you know we couldn't rely on city
[01:41:29] hall to do this on its own. City Hall
[01:41:31] has explored some of our options both
[01:41:33] legally and otherwise is otherwise
[01:41:36] meaning we've tried to contact ownership
[01:41:39] of both the Gellson's and the property
[01:41:41] owner. But I think the the most
[01:41:44] effective as she said with Tony tied
[01:41:46] herself to the tractor out there that
[01:41:48] was the community effort and I think
[01:41:50] that the if the community mobilized and
[01:41:53] put pressure whether that be
[01:41:54] demonstrating out in front of a store
[01:41:56] getting the media attention I think that
[01:41:58] we could in fact affect some change
[01:42:00] there.
[01:42:10] I think the big issue here is why this
[01:42:10] hasn't been on the radar of the city
[01:42:12] council for so long. This is when it
[01:42:14] changes from self-s serving to resident
[01:42:16] serving. When you're resident serving,
[01:42:18] you're constantly thinking about these
[01:42:19] issues and a simple and to be fair to
[01:42:22] them, it's only been about a week, but
[01:42:23] there's a new law that just went into
[01:42:25] effect signed by Gavin Newsome, the
[01:42:26] grocery store access act 1857. So that's
[01:42:30] potentially something that's moving in
[01:42:32] the right direction for us. So we could
[01:42:34] have our city attorney continue to look
[01:42:35] at that. And if the city attorney has
[01:42:37] been looking at ways to contact the
[01:42:38] property owner and the business, they
[01:42:40] need to be updating the residents on
[01:42:41] this. This needs to be something
[01:42:42] available on the website so people
[01:42:44] aren't sitting there going, "What's
[01:42:45] going on with Gellson's?" And whether
[01:42:48] that means for so hopefully this uh AB
[01:42:51] bill will help get us in the right
[01:42:53] direction. You know, it's frustrating
[01:42:54] too because my first job was at
[01:42:56] Albertson's when I was I think it was
[01:42:58] like 14 or 15 years old. And so making
[01:43:00] sure that that's a grocery store is of
[01:43:03] more or utmost importance and if it's
[01:43:05] not going to be Gson's then maybe needs
[01:43:06] to be a Sprouts or another partner
[01:43:08] similar to the issue with the hospital.
[01:43:10] Again goes back to the same issue. Why
[01:43:12] is this not something on the radar of
[01:43:14] the city council? Why are they not
[01:43:15] constantly updating the residents? And I
[01:43:17] I do agree with the mayor. It should
[01:43:19] have been done a long time ago. Let's
[01:43:20] make this a PR problem for them if
[01:43:22] they're not going to step up.
[01:43:32] Thank you. Um reopening is definitely a
[01:43:32] priority and uh perhaps the the PR route
[01:43:36] is um going to be the best course. Um
[01:43:39] because government just I don't know how
[01:43:41] you would guarantee that that this that
[01:43:45] there would be a grocery store in that
[01:43:46] location. Uh but we certainly could
[01:43:48] bring the parties together uh move
[01:43:51] remove any unnecessary obstacles and um
[01:43:55] actively
[01:43:56] look for um opportunities to bring back
[01:44:01] the use that uh we most need which is a
[01:44:04] grocery store.
[01:44:12] >> Yeah. I mean it the lack of grocery
[01:44:12] store in that location affects everyone
[01:44:14] in particular. So it affects everyone in
[01:44:16] this room in South Auna, but it really
[01:44:18] breaks my heart because the biggest
[01:44:19] senior housing um property in towns is
[01:44:22] 71 units at Viso. They rely on walking
[01:44:25] to that grocery store cuz many of them
[01:44:27] don't have cars. So I think they're
[01:44:28] definitely I agree with everyone else's
[01:44:30] sentiment that it is a huge problem that
[01:44:32] we don't have a grocery store there. In
[01:44:34] economics class, we we talk about what a
[01:44:37] monopoly is. And that's kind of the
[01:44:38] behavior that that Gellons is
[01:44:40] demonstrating here, where they're
[01:44:41] essentially making the argument that
[01:44:43] their bottom line is better off by
[01:44:45] keeping by paying the rent um for a
[01:44:47] lease that they have, I believe, for at
[01:44:48] least another 10 years. I might be wrong
[01:44:50] on that, but for way too much time. Um
[01:44:53] and having that that business go to the
[01:44:55] Dana Point location. We've looked at the
[01:44:58] options with our city attorney and under
[01:45:00] maybe Nick, the legislation that was
[01:45:02] signed a week ago provides an
[01:45:04] opportunity. Um, but we definitely
[01:45:05] should be looking at all options. I like
[01:45:07] Joyy's idea about Tony uh volunteering
[01:45:09] herself to to do that. But it's
[01:45:13] definitely it's something that breaks
[01:45:14] all of our hearts. So,
[01:45:22] >> okay, Tony, you've been volunteered.
[01:45:22] Let's make it happen. Okay. Um Ed was
[01:45:27] not able to attend our forum tonight. So
[01:45:29] I asked him to uh send me a closing
[01:45:32] statement which everybody's going to
[01:45:34] have an opportunity to give a co closing
[01:45:36] statement. I'm going to read his closing
[01:45:37] statement now just so that we give him a
[01:45:40] fair opportunity.
[01:45:42] Thank you to the South Luna Civic
[01:45:44] Association for the opportunity to
[01:45:46] submit this closing statement to your
[01:45:48] board. I have lived in Laguna Beach
[01:45:50] since 1994. My background includes
[01:45:53] business leadership, public service, and
[01:45:55] developing emergency communication
[01:45:57] systems.
[01:45:58] Those experience those experiences have
[01:46:01] taught me to listen carefully, ask
[01:46:03] difficult questions, and follow through.
[01:46:05] My priorities are transparency, fiscal
[01:46:08] responsibility, infrastructure, and
[01:46:10] public safety. For South Auna, that
[01:46:13] means pursuing restoration of water
[01:46:15] district voting rights, improving staff
[01:46:17] responsiveness,
[01:46:18] and providing a public schedule for
[01:46:20] overdue neighborhood improvements. It
[01:46:23] means safer sidewalks and crossings,
[01:46:25] better beach sanitation and patrol
[01:46:27] coverage, reliable wastewater
[01:46:29] infrastructure, and practical evacuation
[01:46:32] planning. It also means preserving
[01:46:34] emergency medical care and evaluating
[01:46:36] every hospital proposal, including the
[01:46:38] use of imminent domain against the
[01:46:41] services residents need. We must protect
[01:46:44] our open space, community garden, and
[01:46:46] neighborhood parks while pursuing
[01:46:48] affordable housing in suitable
[01:46:50] locations. We should make better use of
[01:46:53] public buildings, help restore
[01:46:54] neighborhood grocery access, and ensure
[01:46:57] visitor activity contributes fairly to
[01:47:00] the services it requires.
[01:47:02] These communi commitments need more than
[01:47:05] campaign promises. Each should have a
[01:47:08] realistic cost, an identified funding
[01:47:10] source, someone respon someone
[01:47:13] responsible for delivery and public
[01:47:15] progress reports. I will listen to
[01:47:17] residents, explain the choices honestly,
[01:47:20] and insist that decisions reflect both
[01:47:22] immediate needs and long-term
[01:47:24] consequences.
[01:47:25] South South Auna deserves consistent
[01:47:28] attention and meaningful participation
[01:47:30] in decision decisions affecting its
[01:47:33] future. I would bring experience,
[01:47:35] independence, and determination to turn
[01:47:38] those priorities into practical action.
[01:47:41] Thank you, Ed. Nick,
[01:47:50] as someone who grew up in South Laguna,
[01:47:50] this uh candidate forum tonight means a
[01:47:54] lot to me. And so, um, you know, tonight
[01:47:57] we've discussed a lot of the issues and
[01:47:59] there's one word that connects many of
[01:48:01] them and it's neglect. And South Luna
[01:48:05] residents have been raising these
[01:48:06] concerns and asking for rep
[01:48:07] representation for years. And it's just
[01:48:10] really disappointing to see that these
[01:48:11] difficult problems continue to happen.
[01:48:14] But there's an important difference
[01:48:15] between a difficult problem and a
[01:48:17] problem that's just allowed to drift.
[01:48:18] And it feels like South Lagoon has just
[01:48:20] kind of been left uh to drift away.
[01:48:24] And too often this council operates
[01:48:26] reactively and allows these issues to
[01:48:28] build up until residents get really
[01:48:30] upset and they finally make that long
[01:48:32] journey down to city hall on a Tuesday
[01:48:34] night to voice their concerns.
[01:48:38] And then what ends up happening is um
[01:48:40] you know uh I
[01:48:44] the problem is is
[01:48:50] the way that local government should be
[01:48:50] working is they should be listening
[01:48:51] early to the residents. They should be
[01:48:53] identifying these problems and
[01:48:54] developing a plan. And South Laguna
[01:48:56] shouldn't have to repeatedly fight to
[01:48:58] get the basic infrastructure that they
[01:48:59] need and quality of life concerns on the
[01:49:02] city's priority list. It shouldn't take
[01:49:04] Visit Lagona from heavily promoting the
[01:49:06] beaches where the beaches get overflowed
[01:49:08] and then they have to reactively manage
[01:49:09] it by playing whack-a-ole.
[01:49:12] The proactive management is what I would
[01:49:14] uh it's not proactive management and
[01:49:16] that's what I would bring to city
[01:49:17] council. South Aendina deserves a plan.
[01:49:19] Not just a short-term plan, but it
[01:49:21] deserves a long-term plan. And when the
[01:49:23] city does makes major commitments, we
[01:49:25] need to take responsibility for the
[01:49:26] beaches when we're purchasing property,
[01:49:28] managing the impacts. We need to
[01:49:30] understand the long-term obligations and
[01:49:32] the long-term consequences of these
[01:49:34] decisions. So, if elected, I would
[01:49:36] listen early. I would ask the hard
[01:49:37] questions, and I would plan beyond the
[01:49:39] next budget cycle and measure the
[01:49:41] results. We need to make sure we're not
[01:49:42] taking money from capital improvement
[01:49:44] projects and using that money to pl plug
[01:49:47] the holes of the general fund. We need
[01:49:48] to be actually using that money where it
[01:49:50] was intended and that's improving our
[01:49:52] community.
[01:49:53] You know, this council there will always
[01:49:55] be promises and what they intend to do.
[01:49:56] What matters is following through. So,
[01:49:59] if we continue to vote for the same
[01:50:01] council, we're going to get more of the
[01:50:02] same.
[01:50:04] Thank you.
[01:50:12] Not on the timer or not at all.
[01:50:12] >> Do it. Do it at a minute 30. That'll be
[01:50:14] >> Do it. Do it at a minute 30. That'll be fair.
[01:50:16] >> Not at all.
[01:50:23] >> So, I chose to make South Lagoona my
[01:50:23] home 30 years ago, and I can't imagine
[01:50:25] living anywhere else. Um, the longer I
[01:50:29] live here, the more I love this town
[01:50:32] because of the people. That's why I'm
[01:50:34] running. I'm worried about the direction
[01:50:36] the current council is taking us. I
[01:50:38] believe they've gotten off track
[01:50:40] financially, greenlighting showy
[01:50:42] projects and multi-year marketing
[01:50:44] contracts while neglecting investments
[01:50:47] that will improve residents quality of
[01:50:50] life over the long term. I know they've
[01:50:53] lost their way when it comes to
[01:50:54] protecting our hillsides and canyons.
[01:50:57] You know it when city leaders decide to
[01:51:00] challenge the law of physics so they can
[01:51:03] approve projects on hillsides that are
[01:51:06] prohibited from development under our
[01:51:08] general plan. Council members should be
[01:51:12] protectors protectors of our tax
[01:51:14] dollars, our natural and historic
[01:51:16] resources, our safety and our quality of
[01:51:19] life.
[01:51:20] Lastly, we need a member on the council
[01:51:23] who will have the courage to question
[01:51:26] staff findings and processes and vote
[01:51:30] according to what their constituents
[01:51:32] want rather than what their colleagues
[01:51:35] want. I pledge to be your voice on the
[01:51:38] council. I would be honored. I would be
[01:51:41] very deeply honored to earn your vote.
[01:51:43] Thank you very much.
[01:51:51] Um, thank you everyone for your time
[01:51:52] today and I am um free anytime to have
[01:51:56] coffee, help on a phone call um and talk
[01:51:58] more about um my priorities and plans um
[01:52:02] for South Lagoona. I would like to
[01:52:05] utilize this time um to speak for
[01:52:08] residents that have reached out to me,
[01:52:10] the dozens and dozens the last 24 hours
[01:52:13] about the um corruption of buying our
[01:52:16] local election. So, I'm going to give
[01:52:18] the time caveat real quick. Um I spent
[01:52:22] uh almost two decades um in corporate
[01:52:25] America um especially in hospitality and
[01:52:28] $100,000 never was given without strings
[01:52:31] attached. So, I'm going to ask and give
[01:52:33] my time to each incumbent to answer to
[01:52:35] the residents if you denounce any
[01:52:38] corruption of buying our local
[01:52:40] government or um and come to a press
[01:52:42] conference tomorrow with everybody else
[01:52:44] to all denounce that or can you explain
[01:52:46] what was sold in order for that
[01:52:48] $100,000?
[01:52:50] Thank you.
[01:52:59] >> Thank you. Um, you know, I run my own
[01:52:59] campaign and you know, this town is full
[01:53:02] of great people and when I run my
[01:53:04] campaign, I get all my donations from
[01:53:06] residents and when I look at other 460s
[01:53:09] up here, I see a lot of money from
[01:53:10] outside Lagouna Beach from people that
[01:53:12] who knows who they are, but I know all
[01:53:14] my donors and I'm also, you know,
[01:53:17] honored to have the endorsement of the
[01:53:19] PD and the FD and the fire department
[01:53:21] and I'm sure they endorse me because
[01:53:23] they know me and I've worked with them
[01:53:24] and I don't see anything wrong with
[01:53:26] that. I don't like packs. I've never
[01:53:28] liked packs. The first time I ran a pack
[01:53:30] endorsed me without my permission. And
[01:53:31] you can't do anything. You can't talk to
[01:53:33] the pack. It's against the law. And you
[01:53:35] know, just because a pack decides
[01:53:37] unilaterally to endorse you doesn't have
[01:53:39] anything to do with corruption or
[01:53:41] connections to the hotels or anything
[01:53:43] like that. They just decide on their own
[01:53:45] and that's what they do. It's an
[01:53:47] unfortunate part of our politics now.
[01:53:49] And you can thank the Supreme Court and
[01:53:51] Citizens United for this. This should
[01:53:53] have been taken care of a long time ago
[01:53:54] and it's it's gotten to be so bad that's
[01:53:57] a problem. Um, I want to thank you all
[01:54:00] for coming out tonight. I appreciate
[01:54:02] your time and you see me around South
[01:54:04] Lagoon, you can, you know, be sure and
[01:54:06] stop stop me and talk. I'm always happy
[01:54:08] to talk to you guys.
[01:54:17] >> Hi, I've been a Luca resident for 40
[01:54:17] >> Hi, I've been a Luca resident for 40 years.
[01:54:19] I may not be the best political speaker.
[01:54:24] I may not be the best at putting out
[01:54:26] signs everywhere, but I'll tell you one
[01:54:29] thing. I know government. And government
[01:54:32] is not a business. And I have a toolbox
[01:54:36] that I can use to question staff, to
[01:54:39] question the city manager, to question
[01:54:41] the city attorney and implement what the
[01:54:45] residents want. Versus for the last 30
[01:54:48] years, we've kind of been drug drugg
[01:54:51] around and we were not at the bargaining
[01:54:53] tables with all the development that
[01:54:55] came around us.
[01:54:58] I think we need to hold whomever gets
[01:55:00] elected feet to the fire to get a
[01:55:02] capacity study completed and then we
[01:55:05] need to use that capacity study to go
[01:55:07] after the money that is outside of our
[01:55:10] town because we have become a Disneyland
[01:55:14] on the beach and we need to protect it
[01:55:17] because it's not a Disneyland. It's not
[01:55:19] a private entity. It's it's a natural
[01:55:24] resource. It's something that we all
[01:55:26] love. It's why why we're here and we
[01:55:30] need to protect its peace, its quiet,
[01:55:33] its serenity, and its essence.
[01:55:36] Please vote for me. I have a toolbox. If
[01:55:39] I don't win, I'm still there for you,
[01:55:41] and I can help you make that toolbox
[01:55:44] works for you. Thank you.
[01:55:53] >> Yes, of course. I know we we all know
[01:55:53] what a great place this is and and how
[01:55:55] uh much we all enjoy it and appreciate
[01:55:58] it. You know, many years before I even
[01:56:00] ran for council, I committed myself to
[01:56:03] many community causes and civic
[01:56:05] activities. And uh then I when I did run
[01:56:08] for city council, one of my promises was
[01:56:11] uh to bring back civility to the
[01:56:12] council. And I I am proud that all of my
[01:56:15] promises that I made um I kept every
[01:56:18] single one of them. One of them had to
[01:56:20] do with bringing on a new city manager.
[01:56:22] The other one was the creation of a
[01:56:24] legal department. Both of those were
[01:56:26] not, you know, easy endeavors and it
[01:56:29] took some time. I do think that I'm good
[01:56:31] at bringing people together and moving
[01:56:33] the ball down the field. Uh when it
[01:56:35] comes to even, you know, a lot of our
[01:56:37] issues that aren't brought up tonight,
[01:56:38] but there's a lot of small neighborhood
[01:56:40] issues that have to be dealt with. You
[01:56:43] know, we will always have issues to deal
[01:56:45] with. And I know this is a political
[01:56:46] season, so it's about poking and
[01:56:48] pointing fe fingers at one another. I'm
[01:56:50] not going to do any of that. I can just
[01:56:53] speak for myself and that I'm very proud
[01:56:54] of what I've done. Have I um worked on
[01:56:57] tourism? I have. Does that mean I'm pro
[01:56:59] tourism? I'm not. Over tourism benefits
[01:57:02] nobody. And uh I is it a part of the
[01:57:06] stewardship uh ideology and effort to uh
[01:57:10] deal with some of our complex problems?
[01:57:12] Of course it is. It's a big problem that
[01:57:14] we have to manage, but we have to be
[01:57:16] able to talk about it and in order to
[01:57:18] manage it. You know, when Karen makes
[01:57:21] some good points when she talks about,
[01:57:23] you know, dealing with some of these
[01:57:24] outside developments, has Laguna Beach
[01:57:27] been could could they have done better
[01:57:29] in the past to to go out and work with
[01:57:32] some of those developers? They could.
[01:57:33] You know, I've been meeting with the um
[01:57:35] Daryl from the uh Orange County
[01:57:37] Transportation Authority, and he tells
[01:57:39] us, "Oh, time's up.
[01:57:43] Sorry.
[01:57:44] >> Thanks.
[01:57:53] >> Thank you. Um, as I said at my very
[01:57:53] first forum, I'm running for the city
[01:57:55] council not because I've grown tired of
[01:57:58] being your treasurer, which is truly an
[01:58:00] honor and a privilege, but I'm doing it
[01:58:03] instead because I was not being allowed
[01:58:06] access to the accounting information or
[01:58:10] to be involved in the meetings that I
[01:58:12] needed to do a job that you uh elected
[01:58:16] me for and that I expect of myself.
[01:58:21] The latest bond cash issue was the straw
[01:58:25] that broke the camel's back for me. It's
[01:58:28] now October 6th and um we're working
[01:58:31] through the issues. Uh the very first
[01:58:35] meeting I got to have with the attorneys
[01:58:37] was actually last Thursday. Um they had
[01:58:40] promised that we would have this
[01:58:42] resolved on September 17th. Last
[01:58:44] Thursday, it was after I left work. I
[01:58:47] had to take a half an hour off my other
[01:58:49] job to participate in a meeting with
[01:58:52] attorneys.
[01:58:54] I received a a quote from a resident
[01:58:56] that's really good. It's it says, "I am
[01:58:58] only one person. I cannot do everything,
[01:59:02] but I can do something." And just
[01:59:04] because I cannot do everything, it
[01:59:06] should not uh I should not refuse to do
[01:59:10] the something that I can do. And what I
[01:59:13] can do is bring some financial literacy
[01:59:16] to the council at a time when reserves
[01:59:19] are declining and expenses are outpacing
[01:59:21] revenues for the foreseeable future. I
[01:59:24] would bring transparency to the city's
[01:59:26] financial accounting and reporting.
[01:59:39] Uh, thank you to the South Laguna Civic
[01:59:39] Association for the really thoughtful
[01:59:41] questions and all the candidates up here
[01:59:42] for running. I feel really honored to
[01:59:44] have spent the last four years on city
[01:59:46] council. As I said earlier, I was born
[01:59:48] and raised in South Lagoon. Three
[01:59:49] generations of my family live here and
[01:59:52] um for me the number one priority has
[01:59:54] been retaining access to emergency
[01:59:56] services. The the really the stakes are
[01:59:58] human life. It doesn't get more
[02:00:00] important than that. I feel that we are
[02:00:01] in a place working with the attorney
[02:00:03] general's office, working with
[02:00:04] congressman men, supervisor Foley,
[02:00:06] Assemblywoman Cotti PJ Norris on how we
[02:00:07] can ensure we retain access to emergency
[02:00:09] care because literally lives are at
[02:00:11] risk. There's nothing more important for
[02:00:12] than that. And so in my next term, I
[02:00:14] want to ensure that we can h continue to
[02:00:16] have um emergency operate access to
[02:00:19] emergency services. Public safety is my
[02:00:21] top priority. When I was mayor last year
[02:00:23] during the Rancho fire, I saw government
[02:00:25] at its best. Every department was
[02:00:26] working hand in hand. That was not just
[02:00:28] a fluke, but it was a result of $30
[02:00:30] million in wildfire mitigation. We can
[02:00:33] we cannot be complacent when it comes to
[02:00:35] wildfire risk. We also cannot be
[02:00:37] complacent when it comes to public
[02:00:38] safety and visitor impacts. That's why
[02:00:40] we doubled the number of park rangers.
[02:00:42] Infrastructure. We're 100-year-old city.
[02:00:44] That's great culturally, but from an
[02:00:46] infrastructure standpoint, it's a
[02:00:47] problem. That's why we were able to work
[02:00:48] on the historic deal with Newport Beach
[02:00:51] to build a groundwater well providing
[02:00:53] twothirds of the city's water supply. We
[02:00:55] need to figure out how to get those
[02:00:56] water rights to South Lagoon. And
[02:00:58] finally, efficiency. We We can't invest
[02:01:00] in infrastructure or public safety
[02:01:02] without a sustainable city budget.
[02:01:04] That's why Council Member Kemp and I
[02:01:06] worked on finding 1.5 million in cost
[02:01:08] savings and continuing to do more.
[02:01:09] Lagouna Beach is a special place. I
[02:01:11] think the next four years will shape our
[02:01:13] next century. I'd be honored to earn
[02:01:14] your vote. Thank you for the time.
[02:01:24] >> Well, that's our program for tonight. I
[02:01:24] want to thank everyone for coming out.
[02:01:26] This is And I want to thank everyone for
[02:01:29] running.
[02:01:30] I
[02:01:38] I think it's pretty impressive we have
[02:01:38] nine people running for council. That
[02:01:40] doesn't happen very often. Most of these
[02:01:42] forums that I've done, four people, five
[02:01:44] people running for council. So, I I um I
[02:01:47] don't necessarily envy you, but I'm I'm
[02:01:49] glad you guys are all engaged and u
[02:01:52] willing to uh take the take the run at
[02:01:54] this. I want to give some special thanks
[02:01:57] to Tierney who works here. She helped
[02:01:59] set up everything and the city has been
[02:02:01] great.
[02:02:03] Um
[02:02:04] I want to thank Scott Sebastian and John
[02:02:07] Thomas for helping me with the questions
[02:02:10] that were put together. Um,
[02:02:15] special thanks to Ann Henry. She did
[02:02:18] majority of putting all this together.
[02:02:22] I want to