Owners of properties listed on the city’s Historic Inventory are being urged to attend Thursday’s Design Review Board hearing on the draft Historic Preservation Ordinance. The property owners have been contacted by a letter from Let Laguna Live, a recently formed public benefit corporation. The group opposes the inclusion of all homes built before 1955…

January 19, 2017 Homeowner Laguna Beach, California Dear Homeowner: YOU ARE RECEIVING THIS LETTER BECAUSE YOUR PROPERTY HAS BEEN INVOLUNTARILY INCLUDED ON THE CITY’S HISTORIC INVENTORY LIST. During the past year you probably received letters informing you that your house was on Laguna Beach’s Historic Inventory list and inviting you to attend “workshops” on a…

Anne Frank’s recent letter ignores significant historical events and misses the mark. Historic Resources Element (HRE) of the Laguna Beach General Plan was adopted in 1981 to establish “a broad framework for both public and private efforts” and to outline “an implementation program of financial and planning incentives to promote long-term appreciation and preservation of…

Editor, I would like to put forth some questions to Ann Frank regarding her letter on history of Historic Inventory. Who were members of city council and who were on the advisory board. One name was Arnold Hano, founding member of Village Laguna. Who hired these consultants? You state that all homeowners were notified by…

Editor: I want to express my appreciation for Laurence P. Nokes’ excellent guest column in your Nov. 25 issue in which he provides a sensible solution not only to simplify the historic preservation rules but to make the process for adopting them more equitable. We recently discovered that our Laguna residence is identified as a “Key”…

If you own a property in Laguna Beach built before 1955, you must be concerned about the impact of the new proposed historic preservation ordinance on your property rights. Simple remodels to homes of that age are now potentially “historic” by city standards. You may have to hire an historian to prove to the city…

Long-anticipated revisions to the city’s historic preservation rules will be presented by city planners to the Design Review Board on Thursday, Nov. 10, at 6 p.m., in the City Council Chambers. The Heritage Committee wrapped up a years-long study of the ordinance Sept. 28. While the focus of the current meeting is to discuss the…

A retired firefighter who spent his career protecting others is now being forced to defend his property rights from an assault led by a small but vocal group seeking to declare his private home a “historic resource” and freeze it in time. During the last of several hearings conducted by the Laguna Beach Heritage Committee…

Gene D’Isabella, a retired Laguna Beach firefighter, stepped to the podium in the Council Chambers in a final effort to protect his property rights. Gene moved to Laguna Beach in 1956, bought a modest home and worked hard to pay it off on a fireman’s salary. He drives the old fire truck every year in…

Keeping aging buildings true to their historic nature is nothing short of a frustrating and nebulous task, as evidenced during a meeting of the city’s Heritage Committee. The committee met to review the first draft of a new historic preservation ordinance last Thursday, June 16. When it comes to issues such as defining different levels…

I decided to attend a Sept. 15 meeting in I the council chambers at Laguna Beach City Hall after I heard about a serious dilemma involving a couple I represented as a real estate broker 17 years ago. I was totally amazed at how many residents attended and what I heard from those gathered about…