LBindy_3.31.23-FINAL | Page 10

10 lagunabeachindy . com MARCH 31 , 2023
GUEST OPINION : GREEN LIGHT

How Many Laguna Blufftops are you Willing

to Kiss Goodbye , Forever ?

By TOM OSBORNe
At the upcoming city council meeting on April 4 , the Blufftop Overlay District ( BOD ) proposal will reportedly be revisited . I ’ m even more skeptical of the proposal . Why ?
First , our putatively erosion-resistant cliffs show seeming instability . My wife and I visited Table Rock Beach a few days ago and photographed some large rocks at the bottom of a blufftop coded green on a council map , indicating low-erosion risk . The rocks seemed to be of the same composition as the embankment . A neighbor there told us those fallen rocks resulted
from irrigation water used on the blufftop a while back and had not fallen due to our recent atmospheric river-induced storms . I take little comfort in that explanation because future irrigation--copious amounts--will likely come from skyward downpours . Next , I visited Heisler Park Beach and saw and photographed a slide area almost directly below the gazebo . The pile of uprooted debris at the foot of the cliff matched the intact vegetation at the top of the cliff . I scraped some of the soil from the intact face of the cliff and easily crumpled it in one hand , suggesting the embankment below the gazebo is unstable .
Second , I ’ m dismayed by the city ’ s process for its earlier decision on March 7 to go forward with its BOD proposal , which it rescinded on March 21 . Why the rescinding ? City manager Shohreh Dupuis declared that those citizens speaking in opposition were “ confused .” Thus staff would rework the proposal so that we confused folks could better understand why the BOD was good for Laguna Beach . Then , instead of gaining a clear sense of where the citizenry stood on this matter , City Hall reportedly floated the BOD proposal before an architect and developer working group . If so , how representative
is such a group of Laguna ’ s citizenry ? Either way , let ’ s hope city hall will explain its outreach effort to the public more fully regarding this consequential coastal development issue .
Third , we skeptics would like to know why council is dealing with this measure while extreme weather conditions , ever more powerful waves , and King Tides augur the new normal . The Coastal Commission warns that due to sea-level rise the king tides of the present will be the everyday tides of the “ next few decades .” Has this consideration been factored into the Council majority ’ s past approval of a BOD ? Just when the Coastal Commission is counseling coastal retreat in some instances , city hall advocates selective coastal advance into the mandated 25-foot setback virtually to the cliff edge .
Fourth , if the contested measure passes and lives and property are lost , the proposed ordinance specifies that city advocates for its passage are to be held harmless in any liability lawsuits .
Fifth , our citizenry has not been provided with information from the city about how many homes / properties along our blufftops would be affected ( presumably for the material benefit of their
owners ) by the proposed policy change ?
Nor have we been given an estimated amount of square footage of new development that would be added to Laguna ’ s blufftops if the proposed measure passes .
Sixth , I have heard that the city advocates the blufftop policy change to avoid lawsuits . If true , it is equally true that environmental groups might take the city to court for not upholding the Coastal Act ’ s provisions protecting the littoral environment and possible ESHA ( environmentally sensitive habitat areas ) violations on the blufftops .
Seventh , the city ’ s failure to conduct an initial study pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act to assess the likelihood of damaging environmental impacts speaks powerfully against adopting the proposed BOD .
Unless these and other questions related to this highly contested policy change are persuasively answered on April 4 , it may be time to bury what seems an ill-conceived and unpopular measure . Once blufftops are gone , they ’ re gone forever . Email city council with your thoughts .
Tom Osborne wrote Coastal Sage : Peter Douglas and the Fight to Save California ’ s Shore ( University of California Press , 2018 ). His email is tomosborne @ cox . net .
PROTECT OUR OCEAN RESTORE OUR OCEAN
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