The following excerpts from the City’s Municipal Code facilitate neighborhood maintenance and improvement. The Dana Point Municipal Code can be found online at www.danapoint.org. PARKING ON PUBLIC STREETS Shall be restricted to a maximum of 72 hours. Vehicles may be considered abandoned and subject to towing by the OC Sheriff’s Department (DPMC Section 12.08). Overhanging a vehicle beyond a driveway is illegal according to the California Vehicle Code. To report...

I knew I’d seen this sign on one of the streets near my house. I remembered stopping my car and getting out to examine the message. You see, I’d had a vision. It involved safety and security, but it was much more than that. It was a vision of neighbors helping neighbors, not just by making a phone call to the Sheriff’s Department to report suspicious activity but by really knowing our neighbors. The word neighbor itself embraces the concept of friendship, but...

In the mid-1920s, a Laguna Beach realtor named Anna Walters headed up a syndicate that had acquired 900 acres in the Lantern Village. This syndicate began developing our neighborhoods, naming streets after colorful ship’s lanterns: green, blue, ruby, and the rest. Anna also built the Blue Lantern Gazebo and the Blue Lantern Fountain Lunch and Service Station, still standing as the Bella Bazaar. After a short time, Walters’ venture faced bankruptcy, and Sidney...

Attention all LVA residents! Mark your calendars for Tuesday, September 22. That’s the date of LVA’s 2nd Annual “Meet and Greet/Taco Fest” to be held at the Community House on San Juan Avenue from 5:30- 7:30 pm. Last year’s event was such a success that we decided to do it again. If you came last year, you’ll remember that Kyle Butterwick (Director of Community Development) with John Tilton (City Architect), plus some of our finest Code Enforcement...

Suppose you know your next-door neighbor really well. Suppose you even like him. Suppose you have a Norman Rockwellian relationship with this guy and his family: you borrow each other’s tools; you enjoy a cold beer together in your yard now and then; your wives go to the gym together three times a week; your kids play the same sports; your dogs wag their tails and romp together on the lawn. You’re a lucky guy! The problem, though, is that there aren’t very...

In 1991,  a group of residents in the heart of the Lantern Village decided that they were “sick and tired” of the conditions in their neighborhood. A huge cycle of building during the 60′s and 70′s,especially multifamily buildings, had resulted in overcrowding, exposed trash, drug dealing, noise and other undesirable conditions, and had brought the quality of life to an unacceptable low. This grass roots group started meeting and talking to...