Let’s correct some errors in Eric Zuziak’s letter last week regarding the Neighborhood Congregational Church (NCC) affordable housing proposal. He mistakenly credits a petition circulated by “Responsible Housing for Laguna” as a Village Laguna petition. In addition, Village Laguna has not used the description “homeless housing” when referring to that project.
Zuziak maintains that the demolition of the NCC buildings and construction of 72 apartments will create “workforce housing” for Laguna Beach workers. In reality, there is no guarantee that any locals will have preference for the housing.
The massive scale of this project dramatically changes the local neighborhood, adds to congestion and reduces the safety of everyone during an emergency evacuation.
It’s really unfortunate that Zuziak’s distortions and accusations about “who said what” obscure the more fundamental agreement that most of us in Laguna share: we need affordable housing that maintains the special nature and charm of our city. We agree with Zuziak that the Alice Court project successfully created 27 units of affordable housing. Architects like Zuziak must surely understand the difference in impact between a structure of 72 units versus 27 units.
Village Laguna believes that entertaining diverse views and engaging constituents in productive problem-solving will lead to outcomes that we can all support. What we need is a specific proposal from the Related Companies, which so far they have refused to present.
Zuziak points out that this NCC project does not require the usual city approvals. True. Why, then, does the Related Companies need $2,500,000 of Laguna taxpayer money? Simple. This is how you make housing affordable. Someone has to pay.
Merrill Anderson, Village Laguna Vice President
Great letter Merrill. Thank you for correcting misinformation.