LAGUNA BEACH

Police have decided not to press charges against an artist who was accused two months ago of unlawfully displaying his paintings in public.

Mike Laverey, 40, who says he has painted the cliffs in Laguna for 15 years, was issued a citation and a $250 fine Oct. 31 after repeated warnings from the Police Department.

City ordinance requires people to have a permit to sell anything in public. Artists are prohibited from displaying more than one piece of art at a time on public property.

City Manager Ken Frank met last week with Laverey, Laverey’s spiritual advisor and publicist. “We dismissed the citation because we’re trying to work with Mike, and we don’t want to waste the court’s time, our time and his time,” Frank said.