Laguna Beach This Week

Week at a Glance

Beach Closure Area Reduced Following Water Quality Testing.

Following Friday evening's sewage spill, the Orange County Health Care Agency conducted successive water quality tests that confirmed improving water quality. Based on those results, the ocean water closure area was reduced on July 4 to the beaches immediately adjacent to Anita Street.

The City anticipates that, pending the results of additional water quality testing scheduled for July 5, the remaining closure will be lifted. The Orange County Health Care Agency is expected to provide updated test results between 11:00 a.m. and noon on July 5. Once the City receives confirmation from the County, a Nixle alert will be issued to notify the public if the remaining closure has been lifted.

Stay Informed About City Council Meetings

Never miss a City Council agenda. Residents can sign up to automatically receive the City Council meeting agenda by email as soon as it is published. It is a convenient way to stay informed about upcoming agenda items, public hearings, and City business. Sign up here: City Council Agenda Email Subscription

Public Meetings This Week

• Emergency Disaster Preparedness Committee
  • Mon 7/6 - 6:00PM. Council Chambers. Link to Agenda
• City Council Meeting
  • Tue 7/7 - 5:00PM. Council Chambers. Link to Agenda
• Administrative Community Development Director Meeting
  • Wed 7/8 - 3:00PM. Council Chambers. Link to Agenda
• View Restoration Meeting - Cancelled
• Design Review Board Meeting - Cancelled

Public Safety Notes

Police Department

Connect with Laguna Beach Police on July 11

Stop by and say hello to members of the Laguna Beach Police Department on Saturday, July 11, at one of two community outreach events.

Enjoy Coffee with a Cop at Endless Coffee Roasters from 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., or visit Teatime with Traffic at the Laguna Beach Farmers Market from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

These informal events are a great opportunity to ask questions, meet your local officers, and learn about recent changes to California laws, summer traffic safety, and beach safety. Whether you have a question or simply want to stop by and chat, the Police Department looks forward to seeing you.

Crime Statistics: June Year to Date Comparisons

Data Accuracy: Citation and arrest data may take several months to stabilize due to delays in data entry and ongoing corrections made by Records staff and officers. As a result, the figures presented are a point-in-time snapshot and may fluctuate slightly over time. More recent data extracts will reflect the most accurate information available at the time they are generated.

Marine Safety Surf and Weather Forecast

Friday, July 10

Surf: 2–3 ft

Wind: Light WNW 3–7 mph early, increasing SW 8–12 mph in the afternoon

Water Temperature: 67–69°F

Saturday, July 11

Surf: 2–3 ft

Wind: Light WNW 2–6 mph in the morning, SW 8–11 mph during the afternoon

Water Temperature: 67–69°F

Sunday, July 12

Surf: 2–3 ft

Wind: Light WNW 3–6 mph early, becoming SW 8–12 mph in the afternoon

Water Temperature: 67–69°F

Overall: Typical mid-summer conditions with small, fun south swell, light morning winds providing the cleanest surf, and moderate afternoon sea breezes. Water temperatures remain comfortable in the upper 60s. Swim near a lifeguard!

Upcoming Decisions to Watch

340 St Anns Affordable Housing Funding Request. This item was tentatively scheduled for City Council on July 7, but has been rescheduled likely to a special meeting later in July. More information to come as made available.

Community Events and Recreation

Community Events

Music in the Park - Free public concert series held Sunday evenings in July 19 – August 16, 2026, at Bluebird Park. Concerts run 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Click Here for Performance schedule and information.

Music on the Promenade – Live music returns to the promenade on Forest Avenue starting July 10. Enjoy evening music as you shop, dine, or stroll in the heart of Laguna Beach, from 5:30–7:30 p.m. every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday through August 30, 2026. Performance schedule and information available here.

Recreation classes

Looking for something fun to do this season? Registration is open for a wide variety of recreation programs, camps, classes, and activities for all ages. Whether you are interested in fitness, arts, outdoor adventures, or youth programs, there is something for everyone. Explore current offerings and register today to reserve your spot.

Deadlines and Reminders

Parking Permits: A reminder that the City is currently accepting applications for the renewal of the biannual parking permits. A few reminders:

1. Residents must register online to create an account. The City is using a new online platform for parking permits than was used two years ago.
2. If residents prefer to renew their parking permits in person at City Hall, staff recommends they create their online account before coming to City Hall. In addition, residents need to come to City Hall prepared with the necessary information and documents required to complete a application.
3. Residents will not be able to pick their parking permits before July 27^th. All parking permits will be available for pickup or mailed starting July 27^th.
4. The new parking permits are not valid until 8/1/2026. If a resident needs a parking permit that is valid before 8/1/2026, they can apply for a replacement parking permit (for $5) or for a new sticker (for $40). This parking permit will only be valid through 7/31/2026.

Information about the City’s parking permit program, including the required documents, is available on the City's website.

Projects and Notices in Your Community

View Public Notices

• Development activity
• Public hearings
• CEQA related notices

City Hall Schedule

City Hall will be open Monday - Thursday 7:30AM - 5:30PM this week.

City Hall will be closed Friday, June 10.

Message from the City Manager

A good Friday afternoon to you, and a happy Independence Day / 250^th Birthday America weekend!

A couple of Community Notes:

• First, we had a wastewater spill Friday afternoon that may have reached ocean waters.This is always so disappointing, especially this holiday weekend. It’s kinda crushing, actually – because we’ve done really well for so long. This spill involved a dislodged pipe connection at a current construction project – the Anita Street Beach Accessway / Lift Station Replacement project, which is nearing completion.The contractor on the Project has been very responsive to the accident and to repairing the damage.We are investigating further and sincerely regret any and all spills like this. The $7M project is part of a larger investment in upgrading our wastewater system. We could have test results back by 8-9:00 a.m. tomorrow, and may be able to work with the County to lift the ocean water closure with clear results.
• Second, I appreciate folks’ patience with the opening of the Promenade – please make sure you look at the email I sent last evening about what’s open and what the next steps are. I think it looks pretty nice, and I hope all residents spend some time to enjoy it soon. It’s not done yet, as my email explained. But we expect continued progress across July, with more stuff on backorder coming in.
• Third, someone pinged me this week about appropriately celebrating July 4^th. As a reminder, the good folks (yay Frank and Sande) with the American Legion will post flags tomorrow along a part of Coast Highway (and into the Promenade). The Brooks Street flag-raising is tomorrow morning, followed by the Golf Cart parade. City Hall also has plenty of “take me” flags outside if you need one for your person, bike, or hat. Fireworks are at 9:00 p.m. off of Heisler Park. Take a peek at the White Tower, too – it has red, white, and blue lighting all July long.

Back to the business stuff. What follows is my Council agenda summary for the City Council meeting set for Tuesday, July 7^th , 2026. This is our first Zoom meeting (!) since Covid days – I’m already practicing talking while muted (doing it now, in fact). Our rules so far are: If you’re in person, you get to speak first, before persons on Zoom. If you’re on Zoom and want to speak on non-agenda items, those will be at the end of the meeting.In the agenda summary, I cover what I think are the more noteworthy items that will appear on the Council agendas.If you want to see the entire agenda, click here. My agenda summary doesn’t include all of the items up for consideration – just ones that I think should have additional community awareness.Please share this with others if you represent a neighborhood association (thanks!).

Our meetings generally start at 5:00 p.m. on the 2^nd and 4^th Tuesdays of the month at Laguna Beach City Hall, 505 Forest Avenue – the meeting is in the Council Chambers adjacent to Fire Station #1.

There is no Study Session on July 7^th and the regular session starts at 5:00 p.m.

I’ll highlight these items:

• US Representative Dave Min’s office was able to secure about $1.5M in two Federal appropriations, one for the South Laguna Fire Station and one for improvements to Laguna Canyon Road.I think he’ll be present to present those big checks.
• Congressman Min will also recognize our Marine Safety team for their hard work during the recent heavy surf event, where the young girl was lost.
• We’re proposing (after an RFP process) moving to a new vendor for Mobile Parking – this is IPS, which manages mobile parking and more in many locations. We’ve strived to further modernize this, and to make it easier for customers. IPS has a really good product and provides it at good pricing.
• Our thanks to the Ashvin and Poonam Dhingra Foundation and its donation of $13,000 to refurbish the Bluebird Canyon Tennis Court. So nice of them to assist there.
• Council Members Rounaghi and Kempf have worked on some budget and fiscal process improvement ideas to help the City stay more fiscally sustainable. I’ve appreciated their attention to these issues, and look forward to the discussion of their suggestions – it’s a pretty detailed memo, and I recommend that folks review it.
• Speaking of sustainability, Council Member Whalen and Mayor Orgill have been working as the Revenue Ad Hoc Committee to discuss and potentially propose a revenue measure for the November 2026 ballot.After two community surveys and thinking a lot about this, they will recommend that the City not pursue a revenue measure in 2026, instead focusing on:
  • Increasing communication about the need for more capital investment, fire resiliency, and our ability to address visitor impacts like beach restroom cleaning, trash removal, and enforcement of our nuisance laws;
  • Making sure that the City is running as efficiently as possible;
  • Selecting just one measure – likely a 1 cent sales tax – to discuss and present to the voters in November 2028.
• There is a tentative parcel map (merging four lots) to be considered for the Neighborhood Congregational Church’s housing project. A meeting at a later date may discuss funding agreements.
• There is one DRB appeal (855 La Vista Drive), where the recommendation is to deny the appeal and uphold the recommendation of DRB to approve the project.

As always, thanks for reading, and again have a great July 4^th!