Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Historic Preservation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City council upholds planning commission, clears way for Laguna Presbyterian to remove Blue House after debate
Summary
On a 3-2 vote the council upheld the planning commission decision to approve design review and a coastal permit tied to Laguna Presbyterian Church’s request to demolish the small ‘Blue House’ cottage behind the church parking lot. Council added clarifying language saying historical-register status did not legally require permanent retention.
Laguna Beach — After more than three hours of testimony from neighbors, heritage advocates and church representatives, the Laguna Beach City Council on July 22 voted 3-2 to uphold the planning commission’s approval allowing Laguna Presbyterian Church to demolish a small historic-era cottage behind its downtown complex and expand parking.
What the council decided: The council adopted the planning commission’s design-review and coastal-development findings, and added a clarifying paragraph that — based on the administrative record — the earlier 2009 approvals did not legally require future, permanent retention of the cottage as a registered historic resource. The addition was intended to resolve ambiguity in the older project documentation and to confirm the city’s legal analysis that the parcel is not on the city’s active historic-register list in a way that would prohibit demolition.
Why the meeting drew attention: Opponents argued the Blue House is one of the last vernacular cottages near downtown and said the church agreed in 2009 to retain the house as part of a package of entitlements. Supporters — including the church’s representatives and counsel — said the house was not a preserved element on the legal register, that the church is exempt from local preservation mandates under state law for church-owned noncommercial properties, and that the church needs flexibility to maintain the campus and parking.
The vote and next steps: The council vote upheld the planning commission action 3-2. The resolution included a short, explicit paragraph added at the council meeting to clarify that the 2009 council action did not legally require future, permanent retention of the building. The church may proceed with the approved demolition and parking improvements subject to any standard building permits and coastal requirements.
Meeting context: The item was a council call-up of a planning commission approval. The record included architectural assessments prepared in 2006–2008 that disagreed about the cottage’s historic eligibility, public testimony from residents and preservation advocates, legal references to state statutes that allow some religious institutions to claim exemptions, and lengthy staff analysis.
