STAFF REPORT
Meeting Date:
November 18, 2025
BUSINESS
21 SUBJECT: CONSIDERATION OF DESIGN REVIEW EFFICIENCY ORDINANCE AND
EFFICIENCY ORDINANCE
RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the City Council:
1. Direct City staff to submit the Design Review Efficiency Ordinance to California Coastal Commission staff for consideration and feedback and to the City’s Planning Commission for a public hearing;
2. Direct City staff to process an urgency version of the Design Review Efficiency Ordinance for consideration by the Planning Commission and City Council;
3. Direct staff to process an urgency and non-urgency version of the Efficiency Ordinance for consideration by the City Council;
4. Adopt a Resolution that limits the Design Review Board and Planning Commission, as appropriate, to a maximum of two public hearings and meetings on a housing development project application; and
5. Find the actions exempt under State CEQA Guidelines Section 15301.
SUMMARY OF THE MATTER
The processing of development applications in the City of Laguna Beach (“City”) has always been complex, but in recent years, changes in State law, which direct a faster and objective pathway to approval, as well as poor customer experiences with the burdensome Zoning Plan Check process, suggest that our plan review system needs improvement. As such, City staff has been evaluating various measures to improve efficiency within the Design Review process and across the Community Development Department. As part of this process, City staff has developed a Design Review Efficiency Ordinance (“DR Efficiency Ordinance”). (Attachment 1.) A high-level summary of the DR Efficiency Ordinance and the changes it proposes to make is attached. (Attachment 2.)
Before arriving at this version of the DR Efficiency Ordinance, the City held a community workshop on October 1, 2024 to gain feedback on the development of the DR Efficiency Ordinance. City staff then released to the public a cover letter summarizing the DR Efficiency Ordinance changes and the DR Efficiency Ordinance itself for purposes of gathering feedback to incorporate into the ordinance.
On March 12, 2025, the City held a study session among the City Council, Planning Commission, and Design Review Board on the DR Efficiency Ordinance. Based on the study session, City staff presented to the City Council on April 8, 2025 and July 22, 2025 for additional feedback. Since then, City staff has updated the DR Efficiency Ordinance with the revisions summarized in Table 1 below. While City staff was updating the DR Efficiency Ordinance, City staff identified that some of the needed revisions are not part of the City’s certified Local Coastal Program (“certified LCP”) and therefore should be removed from
CONSIDERATION OF DESIGN REVIEW EFFICIENCY ORDINANCE AND EFFICIENCY
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the DR Efficiency Ordinance and put into an ordinance that only amends the City’s Municipal Code (the “Efficiency Ordinance”). (Attachment 3.)
City staff is recommending that the City Council: (1) direct City staff to submit the DR Efficiency Ordinance (Attachment 1) to California Coastal Commission staff for consideration and feedback and to the City’s Planning Commission for a public hearing; (2) direct City staff to process an urgency version of the DR Efficiency Ordinance for consideration by the Planning Commission and City Council; (3) direct staff to process an urgency and non-urgency version of the Efficiency Ordinance (Attachment 3) (in other words, those changes that do NOT affect the LCP) for consideration by the City Council; (4) adopt a Resolution (Attachment 6) limiting the Design Review Board and Planning Commission, as appropriate, to a maximum of two public hearings and meetings on a housing development project; and (5) find the actions exempt under State CEQA Guidelines Section 15301.
DISCUSSION
The City Council considered the DR Efficiency Ordinance at its April 8, 2025 City Council meeting. City staff described the various “buckets” of changes, including common practices not yet in the code and changes to the triggers for Design Review. The City Council gave direction to proceed to the Planning Commission with certain revisions read into the record. (Attachment 4 is the staff report for this item at the April 8, 2025 City Council meeting.)
While City staff was updating the DR Efficiency Ordinance to make the directed changes, City staff identified additional changes that could be folded into the DR Efficiency Ordinance. Rather than proceeding directly to the Planning Commission, City staff brought an item to the City Council, on July 22, 2025, seeking direction on the development of objective design standards. (Attachment 5 is the staff report for this item at the July 22, 2025 City Council meeting.) This effort is largely in response to California’s enactment of a series of housing laws aimed at increasing the state’s housing inventory by reducing barriers to housing production and limiting a city’s authority to deny or modify certain eligible housing projects based on standards that are subjective in nature. As discussed at the July 22, 2025 City Council meeting, City staff proposed a two-phased approach to the development of objective design standards:
• Phase One (led by City staff) - implements the "box inside a box” concept, focusing on basic form and massing standards that would be notably more limiting – but still objective - in what an applicant could construct than a project taken through the full DR process. City staff proposed limiting development allowed under these standards without design review to a single story and at a height not to exceed 16 feet with greater setbacks than those required by the underlying zone. • Phase Two (led by City’s consultant, De Novo Planning Group, and subconsultant, JKA) - establishes objective design standards for single-family and multi-family development, including hillside developments. This phase will address architectural character and style standards. The standards will be presented in multiple formats, including illustrative examples, zoning code-style text, and a checklist, and will cover multiple architectural styles.
CONSIDERATION OF DESIGN REVIEW EFFICIENCY ORDINANCE AND EFFICIENCY
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Since then, the DR Efficiency Ordinance has been updated to include the revisions read into the record by the City Council on April 8, 2025, the Phase One development of objective design standards (discussed above), and additional revisions as summarized in Table 1 in more detail:
Table 1 (Changes Since April 8 and July 22 City Council Meetings) Description of Change Municipal Code Citation DR Efficiency Ordinance Section and Page Number
Deeming an application withdrawn if the
applicant does not respond to incomplete
comments within 90 days.
Section 25.05.015 Section 2; p. 3 of 81.
Specifying that an application cannot be
deemed complete without the payment of
application fees.
Section 25.05.015 Section 2; p. 3 of 81.
Adding Exemptions from Design Review
(Zone Clearance) for annual weed abatement
and fuel modification.
Section 25.05.040(B)(2) Section 3; p. 7 of 81.
Adding back into the Design Review
Criteria: Environmental Context.
Section 25.05.040(H)(3) Section 3; pp. 18 of 81.
Repealing and Replacing Appeal provisions Section 25.50.070 Section 8; pp. 24-29 of 81.
Adding a designee to the definition of the
“Community Development Director.”
Section 25.07.006 Section 9; p. 29 of 81.
Adding staking requirements for Coastal
Development Permits.
Section 25.07.012(J) &
(K)
Section 11; pp. 29-31 of 81.
Repealing and Replacing Local Coastal
Program Amendment provisions.
Section 25.07.025 Section 12; pp. 32-35 of 81.
Adding a definition of “Environmentally
Sensitive Area.”
Section 25.08.010 Section 13; p. 36 of 81.
Modifying sign permit requirements to allow
an internally illuminated sign upon certain
findings by the Planning Commission;
clarifying review authority and appeal
procedures for sign permits.
Section 25.54.010;
Section 25.54.016;
Section 25.54.018
Section 35-38; p. 51-54
Exempting wireless communications
facilities owned and operated by the City or
other local or regional public agencies from
permit requirements within the City.
Section 25.55.006 Section 39; p. 54 of 81
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New General Plan Amendment provisions. Chapter 25.58 Section 41; pp. 54-57 of 81.
Repealing and Replacing SB 9 provisions to
address SB 450.
Chapter 25.95 Section 42; pp. 57-78 of 81.
Modifying Lot Line Adjustments provisions
to allow applications to be considered by the
Community Development Director or the
approval authority for whatever other
permits are required for the project.
Section 21.08.030 Section 43; pp. 78-80 of 81.
As noted, Table 1 only includes those changes noted since the City Council discussed this matter on April 8 and July 22. Readers should look at the attachments to this staff report – in particular, Attachment 2 - to see other substantive changes proposed in the DR Efficiency Ordinances.
About the Changes to the Appeals Process. Changes to state laws such as the Housing Crisis Act of 2019 (SB 330) direct that a municipality’s public hearing process must be limited to five (5) public hearings for housing development projects. (Gov. Code Section 65905.05.) Laguna Beach’s process could stretch to more than five, in cases such as the below example:
• A design review application has its initial hearing – DRB discusses the application and asks the applicant to return with revisions.
• The process repeats itself at a 2nd meeting – with more revisions requested before the DRB is prepared to approve the application.
• At the 3rd meeting, the DRB passes the application on a 4-1 vote. • One or more neighbors appeals DRB’s approval to the City Council. • The City Council hears the item (this is now the 4th hearing), and remands it back to DRB for further changes.
• DRB hears the item (this is now the 5th hearing).
To avoid inadvertent violations of State laws, the proposed resolution (Attachment 6) directs the Planning Commission and Board to hold at most two (2) meetings on a housing development project to allow for a complete appeals process to be accommodated within the hearing limits of SB 330. The change may also limit a tendency for applicants to “come in big” with the expectation that projects will be winnowed down over multiple hearings, which can be time intensive and counterproductive for efficient and expedited Zoning Clearance.
During City staff’s review, City staff identified that certain efficiency amendments are not part of the certified LCP, and therefore a separate Efficiency Ordinance, which only involves amending the Municipal Code only (as opposed to amending the Local Coastal Program and Municipal Code) has been created. (Attachment 3.) The Efficiency Ordinance allows HVAC and pool/spa equipment within side yard setbacks and wall-mounted at ground level without Design Review, provided that they do not obstruct a 3-foot path
CONSIDERATION OF DESIGN REVIEW EFFICIENCY ORDINANCE AND EFFICIENCY
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of travel around any structure and also accomplishes some clean-up relating to real property disclosures under Chapter 14.76 (Real Property Disclosures).
FINANCIAL ANALYSIS
The recommended action has no fiscal impact on the City other than the expenditure of City staff time.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
The recommended action is exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act under CEQA Guidelines Section 15301 because it consists of the operation, repair, maintenance, permitting, leasing, licensing, or minor alteration of existing public or private structures, facilities, mechanical equipment, or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of existing or former use. Here, the recommended action meets the exemption because it involves processing of ordinances that are affecting the organization and procedures within the City and modifications to some standards for existing uses that will not result in an expansion of the existing use. Upon taking the recommended action, City staff will cause to be filed within five calendar days a notice of exemption with the County and State Clearinghouse.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Design Review Efficiency Ordinance (Pgs. 6-86)
2. High-Level Summary of Design Review Efficiency Ordinance (Pgs. 87-93)
3. Efficiency Ordinance (Pgs. 94-99)
4. April 8, 2025 City Council Staff Report on Design Review Efficiency Ordinance (Pgs. 100-155)
5. July 22, 2025 City Council Staff Report on Design Review Efficiency Ordinance (Pgs. 156-240)
6. Resolution Regarding Number of Public Hearings (Pgs. 241-243) Submitted By: Matt Schneider Approved: .David A Kiff
Matthew Schneider, Director of
Community Development
Dave Kiff, City Manager
Report Prepared By: Coordinated With:
Dave Kiff, City Manager Jane Abzug, Assistant City Attorney