Executive Summary

Executive Summary

Assets and Issues

Throughout the Vision Fair events, community members highlighted Laguna Beach?s numerous assets and opportunities for the future. They also identified critical issues and challenges that need to be addressed in the future. Below is a summary of the assets and opportunities as well as issues and challenges.

Assets and Opportunities

Community member identified assets and opportunities by participating in the Vision Workshops and in a number of the Vision Booths. They also contributed ideas using the comment cards.

Assets

  • The physical setting of Laguna Beach, including topography, beaches, coves, hillsides.
  • The active Laguna Beach citizens and their commitment to the community.
  • The cultural arts and history.
  • The small town, ?funky? village character.
  • The excellent schools and active civic organizations.
  • The vibrant Downtown area.
  • The diversity and variety of the people, the arts and the architecture.
  • The friendly, welcoming and safe environment.
  • The controlled development approach.
  • The accessibility of government and decision making.
  • The pedestrian scale of development.

Issues and Challenges

Ideas regarding the issues and challenges facing Laguna Beach were collected in a number of different ways at the Vision Fair. During the Vision Workshops and in small group discussions community members discussed their ideas with each other and used the comment cards to express other ideas. Vision Booth #3 entitled ?What are the greatest challenges facing Laguna Beach?? provided a fun, and very popular way for community members to rank identified challenges as well as to identify other issues. Based on all this information, the most pressing issues and challenges facing Laguna Beach include:

  • Increasing traffic and parking congestion.
  • Maintaining environmental quality.
  • Maintaining the small town atmosphere, scale and texture of Laguna Beach.
  • The ?mansionization? of homes.
  • Promoting and supporting local-serving businesses.
  • Protecting Laguna Beach from regional growth pressures and development.
  • Ensuring community diversity (income, architectural, artistic and ethnic).
  • Internal community conflict.
  • Protecting Laguna Beach against fire, floods and earthquakes.
  • Adequately supporting the arts and artists.
  • Addressing changing demographics.