#3
Heritage Committee Candidate Statement
Jon Stordahl
February 3, 2026
I wish that I was able to attend the February 10, 2026, City Council interviews, but I had already planned a vacation to Santa Barbara and Hearst Castle at that time that I was unable to reschedule. I hope that this written statement will be an acceptable alternative.
I was appointed to the Heritage Committee by the City Council in 2024. I have learned a lot over the past two years and have enjoyed working with property owners desiring to place their homes or businesses on the city's Historic Register or seeking a Committee recommendation to Council for a Mills Act contract. In the two years I have served, we have added several properties to the city's Historic Register, including two by Aubrey St.
Clair and one by Don Williamson, and endorsed eleven Mills Act applications for consideration by Council. I have also participated in discussions regarding modifications to properties, both commercial and residential, already on the Register.
I have taken on a prominent role in the Heritage Committee's annual Trolley Tour. I have conducted the historic research on each featured property, written the narratives for each, worked with the trolley service to reserve the trolley and map the route, worked with Hunter Fuentes to design a brochure for this annual event, and have served as one of the guides.
Beyond my work on the Heritage Committee, I continue to author columns that focus on historic properties in Laguna or issues of preservation in general, develop an historical record on vintage structures all over the city, and amass documented portfolios of the projects of early architects who worked in Laguna Beach, such as Aubrey St. Clair, Jean Louis Egasse, Thomas J. Harper, Charles A. Hunter, and Manfred DeAhna.
I hope that my qualifications and experience will merit reappointment to a second term on the Laguna Beach Heritage Committee. If I can answer any questions by councilmembers, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. My cell is 949.677.8723.
I appreciate your consideration.
Jon Stordahl