Day labor center hinges on zoning

Laguna Beach city leaders will decide whether to rezone the land on which the day labor site sits.

THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
LAGUNA BEACH - City leaders will decide whether to rezone the land on which the site sits.

Laguna Beach city leaders tonight are expected to decide the fate of the land on which the controversial day labor center sits.

City Manager Ken Frank is recommending the council rezone the 16,810-square-foot parcel of land on Laguna Canyon Road as open space, severely limiting its use.

Caltrans, which owns the land, will auction it on July 23 at a minimum bid of $950,000 – an appraisal based on its potential to be used as light commercial real estate.

A city-commissioned appraiser valued the land at $7,545, for use as open space.

Caltrans spokeswoman Pam Gorniak said the agency is sending a letter to the city objecting to the zoning proposal.

The site has been home to Laguna Beach's day labor center, where workers can find jobs regardless of residency status, since 1993. An anti-illegal immigration activist discovered last June that the city-supported center was operating on right-of-way land owned by the California Department of Transportation. The city began to lease the land for $420 a month last July.

A potential zone change will not immediately affect the center, which would be grandfathered into continued operation, Frank said.

Meanwhile, depositions begin next month surrounding a lawsuit that questions the legality of the day labor center. The suit was filed last August by the public-interest group Judicial Watch.

The City Council meeting is at 6 p.m. today at 505 Forest Ave.

Contact the writer: 949-454-7391 or cwoodall@ocregister.com

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