CITY OF LAGUNA BEACH
Environmental Sustainability Committee
April 27, 2026
To: Laguna Beach City Council
From: Environmental Sustainability Committee
Re: Committee Recommendation — Laguna Bluebelt MPA Expansion Petition Dear Members of the Laguna Beach City Council,
The Environmental Sustainability Committee submits this letter to convey the reasoning behind our recommendation that the City Council support the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's decision to deny the Bluebelt petition to expand no-take provisions to Laguna Beach's southern boundary.
This was not a decision taken lightly. The Committee carefully reviewed all materials submitted throughout this process — including the original Bluebelt petition, CDFW's report, and the amended petition filed in response to that report — as well as public testimony representing a genuine diversity of perspectives, from conservation advocates to multigenerational fishing families. What follows is our best articulation of why the evidence, taken as a whole, supports maintaining the MPA network as currently designated.
The Evidence Does Not Yet Support a Permanent Change
Across the petition, the CDFW report, and public testimony, the Committee identified several areas where the data presented was insufficient to justify a permanent boundary change.
The Committee heard compelling testimony about the real-world consequences of MPA expansion on coastal fishing communities (lobster fishermen, recreational anglers, and the fishing and whale-watching economies of neighboring Dana Point). A stewardship model that ignores the livelihoods and traditions of our coastal communities is neither equitable nor, in the long run, sustainable. The report from the CDFW did not include a study of social or economic impacts on our community.
The Committee also recognized that no studies or data were presented identifying the primary cause of kelp loss in those specific areas, or demonstrating how establishing a No Fish zone would affect kelp beds recovery. Additionally, public comments noted the lack of research examining possible contamination in areas south of Aliso Creek when the berm is breached. Because the Southern California current typically flows south (though there are exceptions), this presents a unique concern for the newly proposed MPA that differs from the existing MPA.
Our Recommendation
The Committee respectfully urges the City Council to support CDFW's denial of the petition and to maintain the MPA network as currently designated. We further encourage the City to pursue meaningful engagement with regional partners in exploring stewardship opportunities within the Dana Point State Attachment 1
6 Marine Conservation Area, and specifically at Thousand Steps Beach, by taking an approach that honors both ecological integrity and coastal community resilience.
The Committee calls on the City Council to take an active role in shaping what comes next. Specifically, we ask that the Council:
1. Commission or support additional objective scientific findings for the undesignated stretch of coastline from Table Rock to Laguna's southern boundary — including an independent review of the kelp study methodology and a comprehensive assessment of socioeconomic impacts on local and regional fishing communities.
2. Initiate outreach and education to the fishing community in South Laguna, including lobster fishermen and recreational anglers, to ensure they are informed participants in future discussions.
These are stakeholders with generational knowledge of this coastline, and that knowledge should be part of the process.
3. Explore stewardship models within Laguna Beach and the Dana Point State Marine Conservation Area that balance ecological protection with continued community access, potentially offering an improved stewardship model or framework applicable to South Laguna's undesignated waters.
The Committee supports that original mission of the MPA and believes it is best honored through adaptive, evidence-based management that includes the people who live and work along this coastline.
The goal is not to leave South Laguna in a permanent regulatory void, but to ensure that any future designation is earned through evidence, built through community trust, and designed to sustain both the ecosystem and the people who depend on it.
Respectfully submitted,
Laguna Beach Environmental Sustainability Committee
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