Vision Laguna

What is Vision Laguna?

Preserve the Future!

The Laguna Beach community has been engaged in a visioning and strategic planning project. The purpose is the process is to develop a Vision of what we want the community to be in the next thirty years and a Strategic Plan on how to achieve that vision.

Total involvement of the entire community is critical to this effort. It is an opportunity for you to participate in shaping the future of Laguna Beach!

Why Did Laguna Beach Embark on a Visioning Project?

  1. Left to its own devices, the urban transformation of Orange County is occurring on a scale and at a rate of acceleration that will, over the next thirty years, overwhelm and reshape Laguna Beach. If nothing intervenes, Laguna’s future will be dictated by external, regional events.
  2. We, as a community, are not willing to let external forces dictate what we will become.
  3. We, as a community, believe we can control our destiny. We need to! We want to!
  4. In order to exert control over our destiny, we first need to develop a Vision of what we want for the community over the next thirty years and then craft a Strategic Plan for accomplishing that vision.

What Do We Mean by a Strategic Plan Crafted Around a Community Vision?

If we had these same concerns thirty years ago, and embarked on a similar process, the Strategic Plan crafted around the vision that may have existed at that time, might have looked something like this:

Laguna Beach Strategic Plan
1970 - 2000

  1. Reduce zoning densities by half.
  2. Prevent the widening of Pacific Coast Highway and Laguna Canyon Road.
  3. Adopt height limitations for all new construction.
  4. Create permanent homes for the City’s major art festivals.
  5. Purchase all of the ocean-front property in the City’s downtown, and construct a Main Beach Park.
  6. Purchase all the open space the City can afford, and create a permanent greenbelt surrounding the City.
  7. Preserve the character of public buildings such as City Hall, the High School, and the Water District.
  8. Underground or disguise major public facilities, such as water reservoirs or park buildings, that are constructed in the open space areas.
  9. Annex South Laguna, Old Top of the World, and portions of Laguna Canyon./li>
  10. Prohibit internally illuminated signs in commercial areas.
  11. Construct a community-wide system of resident-serving parks and recreational facilities.
  12. Preserve the resident-serving character of the City’s Downtown.

That Was the Last 30 Years!
What is the Plan for the Next 30 Years?

The GOAL

The goal of Vision Laguna is to develop a strategic plan that covers the next thirty years: from now to 2030. For it to be a plan that continues to live and guide us as our community evolves, it must be built on a shared vision which is created around a broad, community-based, grass roots outreach program. It must include input and consensus from all members of the Laguna community.

The WORKPLAN

The work plan for the project has spanned several years. The first several months were devoted to creating the Vision. Most of 2001 was devoted to hosting educational forums and conducting community workshops to facilitate the creation of the Strategic Plan. The meat of the project can be found in the Vision Laguna Final Report and Strategic Plan. The next phase involves implementing the plan and tracking progress. The viability of the Strategic Plan rests on how accurately it reflects the collective vision of what we want for the next thirty years and the degree of involvement from the community.

YOUR PARTICIPATION IS IMPERATIVE!

For more information call: 949.497.0798
or go to our Contact Page