The story of our town
Once upon a time in a far off land, actually between Corona del Mar and Dana Point, there was a lovely pocket of land that had incredible views of the coastline and an expansive view of Catalina Island. This little pocket of land was surrounded by hillsides that eventually were populated by the many folks who were charmed by its little village, its panoramic view of the coastline – some of these views had names, Newport Beach and even Long Beach. The hills were dotted by live oak trees that had lived there for hundreds of years. But then one day some early folks brought in some trees that were fast growers and cheap. There were other downsides to these trees – but this happens later in our story.
Soon word got out about this special place and people started building homes, hotels, restaurants, and other stores of convenience. It wasn’t long that the flat lands were taken and folks started building in the hillsides. Many not paying attention if they blocked views, heck there was so much land who would care. Then famous art events were held in this little town and millions came to visit.
In a few years, big homes with swimming pools, garages, and media rooms were built and space was at a premium, so were views. The City as it grew with the town had many things to worry about – traffic, parking, water and sewage control, parks, and people were demanding more attention to property rights and views. Some things were easier to take care of, but not everything. Especially when a group of people decided that they knew what was best for everyone living in what is now known as Laguna Beach. Some of the issues they picked on like height limitations were good – that resulted in building codes. However, like all groups who think they control things, they became a bit outspoken and sometimes even rude. Some of the group members planted trees to block views, others thought of ways of blocking expansion, not letting parking structures be built, they even wanted to plant more eucalyptus trees – which most of the rest of the population did not want. They even started saying things that many like myself know are not true – that tall trees prevent fires, even though there was a big fire in 1993 in which over 400 homes were burnt. These folks also made sure that their friends were on various committees created to keep the charm of our town but that soon got old when mostly their friends, it seemed, were given the green light to do things in town, spend money on frivolous things, and of course, plant all the eucalyptus trees they wanted, it seemed, because they are part of our history. This divided the community.
Recently one person noted that there was this green vine growing in one area and it had never been there before. It grew and grew – covering trees, bushes, and killing plants because the plants would not get sunshine. Soon the vine started growing in people’s back yards and they didn’t understand what it was but they were told it is natural here. Soon birds left because they couldn’t access trees to nest or rest. Then the four-footed wildlife left because they couldn’t find anything to eat as smaller animals had already left. Soon people were unable to remove the vines as they grew so fast and the seed pods were painful to get rid of. Plus on the internet they saw that the vines should not be put in compost bins. They were in a quandary.
So people moved out as the eucalyptus were growing so thick it became a forest, all the lovely views were gone, their homes were covered with vines which were “indigenous to Laguna” even though most folks had never seen them before.
Soon Laguna was abandoned and well the rest is history.
Ganka Brown
Laguna Beach