Laguna beach city news City of Laguna Beach, California

The Next Regular Meeting of the City Council is Tuesday, October 8 at 5:00 P.M.

The "Tentative Agenda" is strictly tentative and there is no guarantee that items listed will be agendized as scheduled due to changing priorities, new information, staff workloads, and other unforeseeable events.

Agenda in Brief -

What You Need to Know About the October 8, 2024 City Council Agenda

Dear Laguna Beach Neighbors -

Here’s my City Council meeting agenda summary (the “Agenda in Brief”) for the upcoming City Council meeting set for Tuesday, October 8, 2024. This is a “sorta-brief, sorta-not” way to highlight items that may be missed, so that folks in the community are more aware of what’s coming up.

I don’t highlight every item – it’s always important to check out the full agenda at this link, and to use that as the primary resource for all of your agenda interests. Here’s my own summary:

Presentations:

Council will start with our quarterly recognition of employees who have passed certain milestones for service with the City. We’ll also recognize Code Enforcement Appreciation Week - talk about an under-appreciated group! I always admire how our code enforcement officers do such tough work (telling people something they don’t want to hear is no fun) with such professionalism.

Consent Calendar:

On the consent calendar (meaning a place for generally non-controversial items that we want to conduct via one vote to help the meeting move along), is the following:

• A contract award to a consulting firm selected to do a “Comprehensive Zoning Code Update” of Title 25, which is the Zoning Code. I’ll be writing more about this soon, but this is kinda long overdue - the Zoning Code here is complex (which is fine) but also outdated in some parts, and needs some tuning up. The contract with the consultant includes a significant amount of public input - please be prepared to engage with us on this important project.
• Adoption of the Council’s Calendar Year 2025 meeting schedule. It includes a day for strategic planning (Friday, Jan 31, 2025) as well as joint meetings with DRB, the Planning Commission, and the School District (among others).
• A contract to stripe a bike lane along Park Avenue (generally up the really steep part of Park between Wendt Terrace and TOW). This bike lane project has been in the works for months, and has gone through Council and Planning Commission. The new striping is intended to better accommodate the many cyclists and e-bikers who use Park Avenue to get to Thurston and other locations.
• A summary of at least a year’s worth of experience with a traffic calming platform on Bluebird Canyon Drive inland of Bluebird Park. We think the platform has worked pretty well at slowing speeds, but we’d like the Council and community’s thoughts about this, too.
• The City Council will be asked to take a position in support of Proposition 4, which is a $10B statewide bond on the November 5, 2024 general election ballot. The bond’s funds would go towards climate change strategies, including wildfire mitigation funds, water quality improvements, and more.

Regular Order:

On the regular calendar (meaning a place where Public Hearings occur, as well as stuff that might require additional focus and discussion) is one main item:

A discussion about how the City manages its interests in public rights-of-way. This comes about based on not too frequent requests by Laguna Beach residents to ask that the City abandon the public right-of-way adjacent to the residents’ properties. We don’t have clear direction today via a policy - so we’ll ask the Council and community for their thoughts. Options include continuing to use “revocable encroachment permits,” entering into leases, and/or to set up a formal abandonment process.

Appeals:

There are two appeal items, but neither is expected to take much time. One item (1536 Morningside) is anticipated to be continued to another date. Another (8 Rockledge) may have reached a resolution outside of the appeals process (if so, that’s always good news).

Please consider attending the Council meetings with us - they’re held at 505 Forest Avenue, this time starting at 5:00 p.m. for the regular session. For more detail about these and other items, please review the actual agenda and staff reports at this link.

Other Items of Note:

Please put Tuesday, October 22, 2024 at 3:00 p.m. on your calendar if you’re interested in an update on our Facilities Master Planning (FMP) effort. The FMP is an attempt to quantify and cost out the many facility-related needs (maintenance, replacement, new facilities, etc) here in Laguna Beach - from parking to the Susi Q to City Hall to the former St Catherine’s school site. This should be an interesting and informative update.

Thanks for reading and for being interested in our community.

Sincerely,

Dave Kiff, City Manager

Public Shares Input on Community Development Process at Public Workshop

On October 1, the City Manager, City Attorney, and Community Development Director hosted a Community Development Public Workshop in the City Council Chambers to listen to community concerns and provide an update on the backlog of development projects and the measures being taken to address it. City Councilmembers Bob Whalen and Mark Orgill were in attendance.

At the workshop, the panel explained the Community Development backlog has been caused by a combination of staff turnover, complex Municipal Codes, and inefficiencies in the Design Review process, resulting in delays of project approvals. The City team explained that as part of an initial response, they have implemented more staff training, adopted a new project tracking system, and hired temporary staff to try and reduce the backlog.

Miss the Meeting? Watch the Video Recording Below:

Thank You to All Who Attended and Offered Input!

Caltrans Daytime and Overnight Paving Project Started This Week on Coast Highway

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has started a pavement rehabilitation project on Coast Highway in Laguna Beach, covering both directions of SR-1 between Ledroit Street and Ruby Street, with completion expected in late October. Night work will begin Wednesday, October 9, through October 31, involving pavement grinding and asphalt overlay. During this time, one lane will be closed in each direction, leading to traffic delays and potential noise impacts. The project aims to improve driving conditions and safety by addressing long-standing road wear.

Striping Removal:

October 3-4

• Northbound and southbound - 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m.

Repaving Operations:

October 9 - October 31

• Northbound – 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
• Southbound – 10:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Caltrans appreciates the public’s patience while they perform this work. There will be intervals of loud noise during construction. Please obey all posted signs and traffic instructions for the safety of all workers and motorists. Electronic changeable message signs will notify drivers of the closures. The work schedule is subject to change due to traffic incidents, weather, availability of equipment and/or materials, and/or construction-related issues.

For more information and updates, contact the District 12 Public Information Office via email at D12PIO@dot.ca.gov.

Join Us to Dedicate a New Temporary Art Installation at the Stage on Forest at 4:30 PM Today!

The "Protect, Don't Pollute" mural is a representation artist Amy Rose Hammond's new mixed media work and will be up through December 2.

The Promenade on Forest stage is utilized for live music performances on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings from March through November.

See You at the Promenade!