Laguna Beach Dwellers Debate Right to a View

LAGUNA BEACH — Residents who treasure their panoramic views and those who treasure their trees squared off in heated debate Tuesday night over a proposed ordinance to make this the first city in the county to declare residents’ right to a view.

“No issue affects so many residents of this city so profoundly, both economically and emotionally, as does the adoption of this ordinance,” said view preservationist Bill Zaenglein, one of more than 150 residents who packed City Council chambers for the hearing that lasted long into the night.

After wrestling with the subject for more than a year, the city’s Planning Commission is proposing a view and sunlight access preservation ordinance that would recognize a resident’s right to preserve “a reasonable amount of the view and/or sunlight” that existed when the resident bought the property or when the law took effect, whichever came last.

The proposed ordinance outlines steps involving mediation and arbitration that residents would take to establish their “right” to the view. If talks fail and the matter goes to court, city leaders say, the law could help the plaintiff by showing that the city values views and that the plaintiff followed a city-designed procedure to try to resolve the matter.

City leaders appeared ready to plunge into the controversy, saying something must be done to ease tensions in this community, where there already have been reports of shrubs being poisoned and trees being hammered with nails.

“I want to create peace and harmony in neighborhoods,” Councilman Steve Dicterow said before Tuesday’s meeting. “The status quo isn’t working. I’m seeing people take matters into their own hands and a vigilantism of a type that is not acceptable.”

While the proposed ordinance has supporters, it is a disappointment to many people who have long clamored for city help to restore blocked views.

Generally, view preservationists say the city needs a tougher law than the one proposed. They want a law that is retroactive and could be used to resolve view disputes that are currently raging.

“Every day, the views are being eroded and, finally, taken,” said Madeleine Visca, who with her husband, Frank, helped form a view preservation committee several years ago. “This issue affects almost everybody in town.”

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Opponents say the proposed law could be hazardous to trees. If it is enacted, they say, some residents may opt to simply cut down their trees rather than get involved in a process that could be exhausting and expensive.

“Trees are not blocking the view, they are part of the view,” Chuck Trevisan told the council during the hearing. “They are part of our values and that’s a part of our community.”

“I hope the city will adopt some tree-friendly policies,” former City Councilwoman Ann Christoph said.

The question of how to deal with vanishing views has been slowly inching its way toward center stage in this city.

After the view preservation committee was formed, members began collecting information on the subject and prepared a draft ordinance, which they presented to the city about two years ago. The city then created its own version.

On a single weekend, Visca said, the committee collected 2,000 signatures from residents supporting a view preservation law.

Meanwhile, residents worried that such an ordinance would result in trees being chopped down formed the Laguna Landscape Conservancy about six months ago. In preparation for Tuesday’s council meeting, the group sent fliers to about 1,500 residents, rallying them to the cause.

If the council does decide to approve a view preservation ordinance, Christoph said she hopes the city will first add provisions to the law that will keep trees from being felled or “badly pruned.”

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City leaders are watching a legal battle over a similar ordinance in Tiburon in Marin County. In that case, one property owner took legal action to try to force another to trim and/or top eight Monterey pines obstructing the plaintiff’s view.

A Marin County Superior Court judge declared the ordinance “null and void, unconstitutional, coercive and a non-legitimate use of the police power of the town.” That ruling is being appealed.

Still, many residents in Laguna Beach say the city must take a stand on this touchy issue. And optimists feel the ordinance may provide just the impetus residents need to work cooperatively with one another.

“I think if the procedure works properly, people will largely resolve things with each other,” Dicterow said. “This is an experiment and we’re going to see if this works better than the status quo.”