Harman Wants Top Dollar for Labor Site

State Sen. Tom Harman has asked Caltrans to postpone selling for 90 days the site of Laguna Beach's day labor center.

Harman, a Huntington Beach Republican, represents the 35th District encompassing coastal cities that include Laguna Beach. His website lists top priorities as lower taxes, eliminating waste and fraud in government and eliminating illegal immigration.

In a statement Harman has said potential buyers, including Laguna Beach, should pay closer to $1 million for the Caltrans-owned property in Laguna Canyon than the $18,000 currently on the table. The land value was established by an independent assessment after it was pulled from an auction of surplus state land last year.

"The residents of the City of Laguna Beach need to feel secure that their tax dollars are not being wasted. The city's shameful and discriminatory threat to rezone this property must not be permitted," Harman said.

City Manager Ken Frank said Thursday he had not been directly contacted by Caltrans officials or Harman, but welcomes due process and is unbothered by a delay in the sale. "The day labor folks are doing a great job," he said, referring to the nonprofit group that runs the hiring center. "They are keeping workers out of the neighborhoods. It's a great idea to have more involvement and more talks."

Frank said the property sliver beside the highway and adjacent to open space make it nearly unusable and less valuable than the state's original seven-figure assessment.