I. INTRODUCTION
Laguna Beach has many unique assets?the beach and ocean, hillsides and open space, the arts and festivals, distinctive neighborhoods, good schools and a vibrant Downtown. Perhaps, most of all, Laguna Beach is fortunate to have citizens who take pride in their City and work hard to preserve and enhance its unique character and quality of life.
At the same time, Laguna Beach faces many challenges as it enters the next century: substantial growth and development pressures from Orange County neighbors; increased infrastructure and service demand; water quality deterioration after storms and spills, and high housing costs. Laguna Beach also experiences the impact of tourists with varying needs depending on whether they stay for a few hours or for a few days. Each of these trends contributes to the challenge of guiding future decisions and actions.
To meet these challenges, the City initiated a strategic planning process based on establishing a shared vision for the community. This vision will lead to an action plan?a blueprint?to direct and coordinate future planning, decisions and action for the next thirty years.
Project Work Plan
The overall work plan for the Strategic Planning and Visioning Project spans twelve months. The first several months will be devoted to creating the vision, while the remaining months will focus on creating the Strategic Plan. The viability of the Strategic Plan will rest on how accurately it reflects the collective vision of what the citizens of Laguna Beach want for the next thirty years. Therefore, participation from every part of the community is imperative!
Between May and December 2000, the City will sponsor numerous opportunities for citizen involvement: celebrations, town hall meetings, and neighborhood workshops. The Vision Fair Weekend was the first of many events.
The community outreach component of the visioning process revolves around an open, inclusive community dialogue that is focused on getting all parts of the community involved in sharing ideas about the future of Laguna Beach. The desired outcome of this process is to enhance the quality of life in Laguna Beach and create tangible, implementable action plans that can serve as a guide for the community into the future.
