Mayor Pearson farewell after years of public service

It would be tough to deny that outgoing Mayor Elizabeth Pearson has left her mark on Laguna Beach.

Pearson, whose City Council term officially ends next week, played a key role in developing the city’s senior center and helped displaced families find housing after the Bluebird Canyon landslide nine years ago.

She said the demands of her job as chief executive and president of Pacific Chorale, the resident choir of the Segerstrom Center for the Arts, discouraged her from seeking a fourth consecutive council term.

Pearson spent 6 1/2 years on the Planning Commission before she was elected to the council in 2002. Three years later her leadership as mayor was tested when a landslide battered portions of Bluebird Canyon on June 1, 2005.

The slide destroyed a 500-foot section of Flamingo Road, two large water mains and numerous sewer mains and storm drains.

Pearson worked with city leaders to find shelter for displaced residents and helped secure funding to pay for repairs, with a boost from Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

“Elizabeth reached out to Sen. Feinstein to look at how serious the problem was,” said resident Matt Lawson. “[Feinstein] came down here as a result of Elizabeth’s efforts.”

Federal Emergency Management Agency officials had declined to finance repairs for the damaged hillsides, but Pearson persuaded Feinstein to visit Laguna to see the devastation.

Feinstein’s involvement was seen as helping spur FEMA to contribute nearly $34 million toward landslide repairs.

“Elizabeth did everything in her power to improve the situation, to find temporary housing for the displaced families and assist in different parts of the recovery,” said Lawson, who lives one canyon over from the landslide area.

Pearson said other individuals and groups also played important roles in the recovery.

“It wasn’t all my efforts,” Pearson said. “City staff, the council, police and fire departments came together. My role was to coalesce all available resources and be a source of inspiration and hope.”

Pearson was also on the council in December 2010 when a flood roared through the city, damaging houses and driving families from their homes.

An advocate of disaster preparedness programs, Pearson proposed a city committee by that name, which the council approved in 2011.

The Emergency Disaster Preparedness Committee now has 12 members who educate residents and business owners on proper precautions to be taken to reduce the threat of floods, fires, tsunamis and other catastrophic events.

In addition to disaster recovery, Pearson led the initial fundraising campaign for the Laguna Beach Community & Susi Q Center, which required Laguna Beach seniors to raise $2.5 million for construction as part of an agreement with the city, according to the Laguna Beach Seniors website.

Relatives of the Susi Q’s namesake, Elizabeth Quilter, contributed $750,000 of the $2.5 million.

The center opened at its Third Street location in 2009.

Pearson said the center, located on property where cottages used to sit, had its detractors during planning.

“Early on we did not have a lot of support,” Pearson said. “Certain groups did not want houses removed or demolished. Even during construction there were naysayers. But we kept pushing and got a groundswell of support as the project moved along.

“On opening day, people were blown away with how beautiful it was. Aside from the Montage, [the senior center] is one of the most beautiful buildings in Laguna in the last 15 to 20 years.”

Pearson was also a proponent of the plan to redesign an area near Forest Avenue and Laguna Canyon Road dubbed the Village Entrance. When there was a large outcry against the cost and scope of the plan, Pearson agreed to look at other options.

Ultimately, a

parking structured was dropped from the plans and a landscaped pedestrian pathway approved. The council should be deciding on a design team in December, according to the city’s website.

Pearson is optimistic about the project, particularly since the city purchased a lot at 725 Laguna Canyon Road, which it used for parking last summer.

“We’ve made great progress,” Pearson said. “With 725 Laguna Canyon Road, we can extend the landscape look and feel all the way to Art-A-Fair. One of my goals was to never lose parking. With the property at 725 Laguna Canyon Road, there is no telling what we might be able to do.”

Pearson doesn’t seem to be ready to slow down. Along with her job with the Pacific Chorale, she was recently named to the board of Arts Orange County, an independent nonprofit agency that enhances public awareness of art and promotes arts education.

Pearson was former development director for the Laguna Playhouse and is also on the board of directors for Laguna Beach Live and the Laguna Plein Air Painters Assn.

Councilman Kelly Boyd, who has served alongside Pearson since 2006, didn’t take long to name one of her leadership traits.

“No. 1 is her devotion to the community,” said Boyd, who mentioned Pearson’s response following the Bluebird Canyon landslide.

Pearson said she was just trying to do the right thing.

“The fondest times [on the council] were when I was able to help people,” Pearson said. “The looks on their faces and the gratitude expressed are the most meaningful.”