Opinion: A Win-Win at the Rivian-South Coast Theater Project
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A view of the original facade of the Laguna Theater from Coast Highway. Courtesy of Laguna Beach Historical Society
By Catherine Jurca
At Tuesday’s city council meeting, the Laguna Beach Historic Preservation Coalition withdrew its appeal of the project to rehabilitate the South Coast Theater, a National Register-eligible landmark. Technically the appeal was limited to the City’s decision to exempt the project from review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), because Laguna restricts the right to appeal design decisions to owners of property within 300 feet of the project. The problem with Laguna’s approach, apart from its unwarranted privileging of ownership over occupancy, is that it deprives Council of the flexibility to make design changes that would bring a project into compliance with CEQA.