City Council Meeting Wrap-Up

The following is from the March 22 meeting of the Laguna Beach City Council.

Committee appointments

The council conducted interviews and appointed applicants to the Heritage, TechComm and Environmental committees.

WHAT IT MEANS

Incumbents Mollie Bing, Bonnie Hano, James Ward Henry and Linda Morgenlander were appointed to two-year terms on the Heritage Committee, ending April 1, 2013.

Sure Kempf, Diane Leemon, David Mitchell and Tim Templeton were appointed to the TechComm Committee, terms also to end April 1, 2013.

The council appointed Amir Sardari to an abbreviated term on Environmental Committee, to complete the term of a member who resigned. The committee requested the appointment of replacement as soon as possible.

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Council Appointment

The council appointed Rollinger to represent Laguna Beach on the Executive Committee of the South Orange County Regional Watershed Management Area. Egly was appointed the alternate.

WHAT IT MEANS

Laguna has a cooperative agreement with other South County cities and water districts that award about $12 million in Proposition 84 grant funding from the State Water Board to local watershed projects.

The committee prioritizes resource issues, problems and project among other duties. Laguna has submitted several projects for consideration

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Trees, vegetation to be removed, 3 to 2

The council voted to deny Councilman Kelly Boyd’s appeal of a Design Review Board instruction to trim and remove vegetation and trees on a South Laguna property under the provisions of the city’s Hedge Height Ordinance.

Boyd said the board overstepped its bounds by including vegetation that should not be considered a hedge.

Boyd and Rollinger voted against the appeal.

“I wish we didn’t try to regulate growing things,” Rollinger said.

WHAT IT MEANS

The board’s decision stands.

—Compiled by Barbara Diamond