McKay, Ann Marie CC
Subject: Listen to the residents of this precious city
From: shields
Sent: Tuesday, April 28, 2026 12:33 PM
To: City Council <[email protected]>
Subject: Listen to the residents of this precious city
Laguna cannot become a Charter City and this city council MUST GO NOW before they do more damage to the town we love!! #SAVELAGUNABEACH What the city has done to these LIVING BEINGS: When we look at a mature tree, we are truly only seeing half of the organism. The other half-the complex, breathing, and communicative network hidden beneath the pavement-is the biological engine that sustains it. The loss of mature, historic trees like the eucalyptus on Forest Ave is more than just a change in scenery; it is the destruction of an established living system. Here is a look at the "heart and life system" that exists beneath the soil. The Architecture of the Underground "Heart" A tree's root system is not just a static anchor; it is a dynamic, growing organ system that constantly adapts to its environment. Structural Roots (The Skeleton): These are the thick, woody roots like the ones visible in your photos. Their primary job is to anchor the massive weight of the tree against wind and gravity.
They also act as the main highways, transporting water and nutrients up to the trunk. Feeder Roots (The Lungs and Mouth): The real "work" of keeping the tree alive happens at the microscopic level. Fine, hair-like feeder roots grow outward and upward toward the soil surface, where oxygen and moisture are most abundant. These are incredibly delicate and are the actual mechanisms that absorb water and vital minerals. The Wood Wide Web (Mycorrhizal Fungi): Trees do not survive alone. Their roots form symbiotic relationships with beneficial fungi in the soil. The fungi attach to the feeder roots, extending the tree's reach to absorb water and nutrients by hundreds of times. In return, the tree feeds the fungi liquid carbon (sugars) produced through photosynthesis.
These fungal networks even allow trees to share resources and communicate stress signals with neighboring trees. Eucalyptus Roots Specifically Eucalyptus trees, native to Australia, have evolved incredibly resilient and aggressive root systems to survive in harsh, arid climates. Wide, Not Deep: While people often assume tree roots mirror the canopy (like a deep carrot), eucalyptus roots-especially in urban environments-actually spread horizontally. They can reach outward two to three times the width of the tree's canopy, staying largely in the top 12 to 24 inches of soil to quickly capture any rainfall. The Lignotuber: Many eucalyptus species have a specialized survival organ called a lignotuber. This is a woody swelling at the root crown (just at or below the soil line) that stores massive amounts of energy (carbohydrates) and dormant buds. In the wild, if the top of the tree burns in a wildfire or breaks in a storm, the lignotuber uses this stored "battery" to immediately push up new growth. Water Foraging: Eucalyptus roots are notoriously efficient water foragers. They are known to seek out moisture with incredible persistence, which is why they are so successful at surviving droughts once established. When a tree is cut down to a stump, the underground life system suffers an immediate and catastrophic collapse. Starvation: The roots rely entirely on the leaves above for food (sugars from photosynthesis). Without the canopy, the root system begins to starve. Ecosystem Collapse: As the roots slowly die and decay, the symbiotic fungi that relied on them also perish. The massive pocket of soil that was once a thriving, oxygenated, living ecosystem slowly turns into a zone of decaying organic matter. Understanding this invisible network highlights just how much biological infrastructure is lost when mature trees are removed.
McKay, Ann Marie CC
Subject: City Clerk & City Council Public Comment Form
From: Laguna Beach, CA <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, April 27, 2026 9:28 PM
To: City Council <[email protected]>; McKay, Ann Marie CC <[email protected]>; Baldridge, Cheryl CC <[email protected]>
Subject: *NEW SUBMISSION* City Clerk & City Council Public Comment Form City Clerk & City Council Public Comment Form
Full Name
David Martinez
What is the subject of your comment?
City Charter and Ranked Choice Voting
Is the item you wish to comment about on the upcoming City Council agenda? Yes
If the item is on the agenda, what number is it?
17 Comment
Laguna Beach City Councilmembers, As you consider a minimal and streamlined city charter I hope to add another item to at least consider. In California, general law cities must adopt plurality voting for their Council election. This system of voting means that whoever gets the most votes, wins. However, it is not always the case that the highest vote-getter was supported by a majority of voters. Through plurality voting, it's even possible that as little as 25% of voters supported the winner (as was recently the case for Garden Grove mayor).
A different voting system, like Ranked Choice Voting, would ensure that the ultimate winner is supported by a majority of the population.
I'd encourage the Council to consider alternative voting systems as you consider a city charter and do some research into systems such as Ranked Choice Voting or the Single Transferable Vote. These systems can also work with at-large Councils as you have. Thank you, David Martinez
McKay, Ann Marie CC
Subject: Please say no the Charter City plan.
From: Amy Jackson
Sent: Tuesday, April 28, 2026 10:11 AM
To: McKay, Ann Marie CC <[email protected]>; City Council < [email protected]> Subject: Please say no the Charter City plan.
April 28, 2026
City Council of Laguna Beach
Laguna Beach, California
Dear Members of the City Council,
I am writing to strongly urge you to pause and reconsider the proposed transition to a charter city structure. This change would facilitate a fast-track development agenda that threatens to erase everything that makes Laguna Beach extraordinary-and irreplaceable.
Laguna Beach is not simply a city; it is a living work of art. Our community's value lies in its uniqueness:
the carefully preserved architecture that honors our history, the native trees that frame our coastline, the authenticity of our neighborhoods, and the natural beauty of our beaches. These elements, woven together over generations, have created something that cannot be replicated. They are what draw people from around the world to our shores and what make us a beloved destination.
The current proposal threatens to dismantle this irreplaceable community in favor of homogenous architecture and rapid development. We have seen this pattern play out in countless cities-the result is never progress, but loss. Once our character is demolished, no amount of development revenue can restore it. We will have traded our soul for short-term gain.
I respectfully urge you to reject the charter city structure and instead commit to a different path forward. Our city can embrace innovation and artistic growth while honoring our heritage. We can invest thoughtfully in our existing community, supporting local artists, preserving our architectural integrity, and protecting the natural environment that defines us. Progress and preservation are not mutually exclusive-they are complementary.
You were entrusted with the stewardship of Laguna Beach. I ask you to choose preservation, thoughtful investment, and the continuation of what makes us special. End the fast-track agenda. Engage with this community about our future. Work with us to create a city that honors our past while building a vibrant, artistic, and sustainable future.
Thank you for your consideration and your service to our community.
Sincerely,
Amy Jackson
1 To: Laguna Beach City Council Members
Re: Agenda Item 17
Date: April 28, 2028
At its February 10, 2026 meeting, Council requested staff to come back with a limited draft of a Charter focusing on purchasing, parking and penalties, with perhaps more information on financing, economic development and job descriptions of elected officials. It also requested an analysis of the financial ramifications, including estimated costs and savings, of adopting a Charter. The City Manager promised a cost analysis. The City Attorney suggested staff would come back with a Power Point of an updated version of the draft Charter, and that a public hearing would be scheduled in May.
Despite flirting with inclusion on the Agenda a few times since, an actual meeting to discuss the revised draft and related costs and savings, this was never brought back to the Council for further discussion at a regular meeting. Instead the City has scheduled this first of two required public hearings. Residents would only have known this was on the Agenda tonight, if they happened to recheck the Agenda over the week end.
Perhaps they should have known. It seems California law requires notification of public hearings be published in a newspaper and posted in three public places at least 21 calendar days before a public hearing. The staff report states that the hearing was duly noticed. Please advise as to how, when and where.
So far, this process has not been inspiring.
Regards,
Mary Locatelli
McKay, Ann Marie CC
Subject: City Council
From: Debbie Lewis
Sent: Monday, April 27, 2026 2:07 PM
To: McKay, Ann Marie CC <[email protected]>
Subject: City Council
Dear City Council Members,
We need a massive educational effort to state specifics of how becoming a Charter City has unique benefits to our unique problems.
The one benefit that I feel strongly about is simply being able to staff up when needed to handle parking, trash and enforce the ordinances we have in place. Residential life closer to the shoreline is becoming unbearable...just as it is in many parts of the world.
If I understand it correctly, The Coastal Commission has a lot of control we cannot reel in. But no real control on how we actually Implement our existing ordinances to protect our city, neighborhoods and beaches. We need manpower that we can bring in during the most unmanageable times when we do not have enough staff to enforce ticketing and any authority only city employees can enforce currently.
Our problems are unique and real. Our quality of life is deteriorating and permanent damage is being done to our protected coastline.
How can residents be educated to the benefits of having more flexibility to manage our unique needs ? Nextdoor is bombarded with incorrect information or no real understanding of what we can and cannot do.
Thank you,
Debbie Lewis
Ocean Way
1 McKay, Ann Marie CC
Subject: Item 17: Charter City
From: Trish Sweeney
Sent: Monday, April 27, 2026 2:40 PM
To: McKay, Ann Marie CC <[email protected]>
Subject: Item 17: Charter City
Hi, Ann Marie.
Would you please forward the email below to all city council members and enter this into the record under public comment for this item?
Thank you,
Trish Sweeney
Laguna Beach City Council Members:
Our family objects in the strongest possible terms to changing from a general law city to a charter city.
Only 25% of cities in California are charter cities (108 out of 478). Charter cities have greater control over land use and tax policy. They can, as shown in the documents for this item, include greater power than is the case currently. Beyond consolidating power and reducing transparency, charter city status can result in greater legal costs that could result in higher taxes and reduced public services. There are high transition costs, costs for changes to the charter, higher exposure to lawsuits from overriding state laws, and much more-all of which undermines any potential financial gain.
Claims about greater local governance ring hollow to us. Exhibit A: The City of Huntington Beach vs. The State of California.
Similarly, the idea that we have to become a charter city in order to issue parking tickets by someone other than a parking enforcement officer from our police department also appear to be unfounded. Multiple general law cities in California use vendors to issue parking citations. Besides, the City had no problem removing 48 revenue-generating parking meters on Lower Forest that put a million dollars a year into city coffers. If it's truly concerned about parking citations, perhaps the city should examine its recent decisions.
Given the City's current budget situation, pursuing Charter City status is unnecessary and unwarranted. It appears that spendy projects, growing city staff and increased costs have resulted in a projected shortfall of $530,000 for 2026.
According to an article by Mary Locatelli in last week's Laguna Beach Independent, that number is expected to increase each year to a projected $7.8 million in 2031 "with the projected cumulative total over the six years approximating $32 million."
Please stop the runaway spending. Stop proposing projects for staff to agendize that the public hasn't asked for and doesn't want.
Trish and Mike Sweeney
McKay, Ann Marie CC
Subject: URGENT: Resident's Demand to Preserve Laguna - Trees, Safety, and Fighting State Mandates - Agenda #15 & #17
From: Lili Furst
Sent: Monday, April 27, 2026 2:44 PM
To: City Council <[email protected]>; McKay, Ann Marie CC <[email protected]> Subject: URGENT: Resident's Demand to Preserve Laguna - Trees, Safety, and Fighting State Mandates - Agenda #15 & #17 Dear Mayor and Members of the Laguna Beach City Council, I submit this letter for the official public record regarding Agenda item #17 and the entire meeting. Please ensure this communication is included in the correspondence file, distributed to the Council, and recorded in the meeting minutes for the April 28, 2026 City Council meeting.
As a 46-year resident of Laguna Beach, I have watched our town evolve yet preserve all that makes Laguna special, but l am deeply alarmed by the current direction we are heading and all the items this City Council is looking to changelupdate. I am writing to you today to make it absolutely clear: I want OUR Laguna PRESERVED NOT MODERNIZED.
I urge you to immediately address the following critical issues threatening the safety, character, and future of our city:
1. Protect and Maintain Our Trees - Stop the "Death by Design" What happened to the Forest was death by design. We must demand that no more street designs include an 8" excavation-this practice is an absolute death sentence to our mature trees. Furthermore, our existing trees need to be drastically better maintained and cared for. I have seen plenty of unmaintained trees around town that are severe FIRE HAZARDS. Proper care is imperative to our town's safety, and we cannot afford negligence.
2. Push Back Against State Housing Mandates | demand that Laguna Beach start aggressively pushing back against the state's demands for housing. We are uniquely vulnerable: we have immense fire and emergency hazards, high existing density, and only two ways in and out of town. You must use the Coastal Act and our unique geographical constraints to fight back. Other cities have successfully fought the state on these issues, and Laguna Beach must do the same. We need specific, targeted pushback-not a general exemption or surrender that allows the state to override our City Council and local zoning laws, which only provides a general building free-for-all for developers.
3. NO to the Action Plan, Specific Plan, and Charter City Status Let me be completely unequivocal:
• I DO NOT support the Downtown Action Plan.
• I DO NOT support the Downtown Specific Plan.
• I DO NOT support Laguna Beach becoming a charter city FOR ANY REASON. We do not need to rewrite our city's foundation or rezone our downtown to appease outside developers or state bureaucrats.
1 4. Hear and Respect Resident Voices Above all else, this City Council needs to start hearing, but moreso:
respecting and honring resident voices and sentiments. You were elected by the people of this town, and you WORK for the RESIDENTS-NOT for builders, NOT for arborists, and NOT for the state! I expect my City Council to stand up, remember who they represent, fight for our safety, and ensure our town remains the Laguna we know and love and all the qualities that make it special.
Sincerely,
Lili Mannarino
North Laguna
2 McKay, Ann Marie CC
Subject: Charter City
From: tiffany casler
Sent: Monday, April 27, 2026 11:07 AM
To: City Council <[email protected]>
Subject: Charter City
Dear Mayor and City Council, We cannot let state housing mandates destroy Laguna Beach's village character. We demand that you stop allowing developers to use state "exemptions" to threaten our downtown with 4-5 story buildings. We expect this Council to aggressively defend our town using the legal tools we already have: 1. The Coastal Act: Enforce our Local Coastal Program (LCP). State density bonuses do not override Coastal Act protections. 2. Fire Safety: 87% of Laguna is a Very High Fire Hazard zone. High density downtown creates a fatal evacuation nightmare. Use life-safety laws to deny reckless density. 3. Smart Compliance: Keep our Housing Element certified so we don't fall victim to the "Builder's Remedy " but do not sacrifice the historic downtown corridor to do it. We expect you to fight for Laguna Beach, not surrender to Sacramento. We are watching, and we will be voting."
Tiffany Casler
Laguna Beach resident for 42 years
McKay, Ann Marie CC
Subject: Agenda 17
From: Carey Strombotne
Sent: Monday, April 27, 2026 10:44 AM
To: City Council <[email protected]>; McKay, Ann Marie CC <[email protected]>; Kiff, Dave CM <[email protected]>
Subject: Agenda 17
Dear Mayor Orgill and Council Members,
I oppose the proposal to make our city a charter city, and one of my biggest concerns is trust.
The recent decision to remove the Forest Avenue trees in the middle of the night without notifying residents was a failure of communication and transparency. It left many in the community feeling ignored and shut out of decisions that directly affect them. It is hard to support moving toward giving the mayor and city government even more authority and discretion. Local control only works when there is strong public trust, and right now that trust has been damaged.
There is also the potential loss of state funding. Our city relies on state grants for infrastructure, housing, and public improvements, especially the kinds of funding and investments that support our local roads, and a thriving downtown. If charter status jeopardizes access to that funding, the financial consequences will fall directly on residents.
A charter would also add administrative burdens to our city government. It is not a one time change, it would create an ongoing obligation to manage and interpret a detailed governing document that can become increasingly rigid over time. Right now, cities like San Francisco and Oakland are grappling with reforming their charters. The reform process is long and cumbersome, and shows the downside of chartering, including constant resident vigilance, government inefficiency, and confusion on processes, along with wasting taxpayer dollars on the clunky procedures.
And finally, there is also a huge concern about how this would affect our downtown specific plan. Residents do not want city government to have more control over local processes like zoning and design. The ability to change zoning in our DSP, like height limits and density, without final community input would not be resident serving. Residents expect to be part of important decisions, and chartering would risk government processes to become even more contentious, and burdensome around development, growth and housing.
For these reasons, I respectfully urge you to reject pursuing charter city status. Our city becoming a charter city does not serve residents, and leaves too much risk for potential problems.
Sincerely,
Carey Strombotne
Laguna Beach, CA
McKay, Ann Marie CC
Subject: No Charter City for Laguna Beach
From: Celine Macmillan
Sent: Sunday, April 26, 2026 11:46 AM
To: McKay, Ann Marie CC <[email protected]>
Subject: No Charter City for Laguna Beach
Dear LB City Council,
Respectfully, I'm a no on Laguna Beach becoming a charter city.
Celine Macmillan
41 year Laguna Beach resident