Community Outreach Summary
City of Laguna Beach | February – May 2026 | Attachment to June 9, 2026 Agenda Report Between February and May 2026, the City conducted broad community outreach to inform residents about the fiscal outlook, service and infrastructure needs, and potential revenue measures, and to gather community input. Outreach included four Community Town Hall meetings and an ongoing online community survey hosted on the City's Community Outreach webpage.
Community Town Hall Meetings
Between February and May 2026, the City hosted four Community Town Hall meetings to inform residents about City services, the fiscal outlook, infrastructure needs, and potential revenue measures, and to gather direct community feedback. Three of the four meetings were held in person, and the fourth was conducted virtually via Zoom to broaden participation. Each meeting was led by the City Manager and Assistant City Manager/CFO, with subject-matter staff available for technical questions. Each Town Hall was recorded and posted to the City's YouTube channel along with the slide presentation, allowing residents who could not attend in person to review the materials at their convenience.
Town Hall #1 — February 19, 2026 (In-Person)
The first Town Hall introduced residents to the City’s overall fiscal context and the rationale for evaluating potential new revenue. Staff presented an overview of City services, the proposed Fiscal Year 2026-27 budget, rising cost pressures including public safety staffing, CalPERS pension obligations, insurance, wildfire mitigation and fuel modification, infrastructure maintenance, and construction, and the steps the City had already taken to balance the budget (including the elimination of eight full-time positions and reductions in contracts and capital outlay). The session also introduced the long-term infrastructure picture, including the Facilities Master Plan and the anticipated closure of Mission Hospital Laguna Beach. The three potential revenue measure concepts (TOT, Sales Tax, and Business License Tax) were introduced for community awareness and initial feedback. Resident questions focused on cost-reduction steps already taken, the scope and prioritization of the Facilities Master Plan, and the rationale for considering each potential revenue measure.
Town Hall #2 — March 9, 2026 (In-Person)
The second Town Hall continued the fiscal conversation and expanded into policy options beyond direct revenue measures. Staff introduced the City Charter concept – a separate but related policy question regarding whether Laguna Beach should pursue charter city status to gain expanded local control over taxation, contracting, and other matters. Discussion also covered parking management (including residential parking impacts and potential use of the ACT V lot), downtown traffic concerns, comparisons of Laguna Beach’s transient occupancy tax rate with surrounding Orange County cities, and the City’s relationship with Visit Laguna Beach. Resident feedback on the City Charter concept was mixed, with some interest in the additional flexibility and others expressing concerns about complexity, process, and unintended consequences. This feedback informed the City Council’s subsequent decision on April 28, 2026, to not pursue a City Charter measure for the November 2026 ballot.
Attachment 2
46 Town Hall #3 — April 16, 2026 (In-Person)
The third Town Hall focused on infrastructure investment and risk reduction. Presentations addressed wildfire mitigation activities (including fuel modification zones, AI-assisted fire detection, expanded outdoor warning sirens, and the additional $4 million invested following the 2025 Palisades and Eaton fires), utility undergrounding priorities, evacuation route reliability, and the potential transfer of Laguna Canyon Road from Caltrans, including the associated $15 million transfer payment and potential undergrounding contributions from Southern California Edison. Staff also revisited the three revenue measure concepts with refined revenue estimates. The Q&A was extensive and covered code enforcement, beach maintenance, downtown economic vitality, the long-term operating cost implications of assuming responsibility for Laguna Canyon Road, and concerns about repeating past experiences with state and regional agencies.
Town Hall #4 — May 20, 2026 (Virtual via Zoom)
The final Town Hall in the series was held virtually via Zoom and drew approximately 60 attendees. The City Manager and Assistant City Manager/CFO presented an integrated summary of the City's fiscal outlook, infrastructure needs, and the three potential revenue measures with revenue estimates aligned to the ballot language being evaluated in the concurrent Probolsky Research voter survey. The virtual format allowed residents who could not attend the in-person sessions to participate, ask questions, and provide feedback in real time. Discussion topics included the structural nature of the budget gap, the November 2026 ballot timeline, the comparative merits of each of the three measures, the implications of placing multiple measures on the same ballot, and the next steps the City Council would consider at its June 9, 2026 meeting.
Recurring Resident Themes Across the Town Hall Series
Several themes were raised consistently by residents across all four meetings:
• Visitor impact and fair share: Concern that visitors and day-trippers are not paying their fair share of the cost of the services they generate, and that revenue measures should focus on visitorpaid sources before resident-paid sources. • Wildfire risk and undergrounding: Strong interest in undergrounding utilities, particularly along Laguna Canyon Road and primary evacuation routes, to reduce wildfire risk and improve evacuation safety.
• Spending discipline before new revenue: Questions about whether the City has sufficiently reduced spending and pursued efficiencies before asking voters to consider new taxes. • Parking and traffic: Interest in parking management, enforcement, ACT V lot utilization for employee parking, and addressing traffic congestion on Coast Highway and Laguna Canyon Road.
• Public safety funding: Concern about the long-term funding of Police, Fire, and Marine Safety services, especially in light of anticipated public safety cost growth. • Aging City facilities: Concern about the condition of aging City facilities, including fire stations, the library, and community centers, and the cost of maintaining or replacing them. • City character and visitor balance: Interest in maintaining the City's character and supporting local businesses while addressing the impacts of increasing visitation. 47 Online Community Survey
Twenty-six (26) responses were received via the online community survey between March 23 and May 20, 2026. The online survey is self-selected and not a scientifically valid sample of community opinion; it is intended to capture the views of engaged residents who chose to participate. Responses across the six survey questions are summarized below.
• Most important City issues: Wildfire mitigation and public safety were most frequently cited, followed by traffic congestion (particularly on Coast Highway and Laguna Canyon Road, including the LCAD crosswalk), parking, fiscal management and perceived overspending, beach management and visitor behavior enforcement, sewer infrastructure and utility undergrounding, and the balance between resident quality of life and tourism. • Highest funding priorities: Wildfire mitigation and Fire Department readiness, Police and public safety, sewer and storm drain infrastructure, beaches and marine safety, and ambulance services in light of concerns about the planned hospital closure. Several respondents indicated no new services should be funded until existing costs are reduced first. • Suggestions to improve efficiency or reduce costs: Across-the-board departmental cuts of 5– 10%; reductions to Marine Safety full-time staffing in favor of seasonal lifeguards; reducing City Hall hours or staffing levels; streamlining permitting in Community Development; cancelling or defunding Visit Laguna Beach; using AI and technology for routine services; and expanding volunteer programs.
• Long-term infrastructure ideas: Prioritize fire station replacement and seismic upgrades; accelerate utility undergrounding in residential neighborhoods; sell St. Catherine's property and redirect proceeds; build an overhead pedestrian bridge at LCAD to eliminate the on-demand crosswalk; do not assume ownership of Laguna Canyon Road (viewed by many respondents as a long-term financial liability); and adopt disciplined long-term savings planning for infrastructure replacement.
• Revenue options: A majority of respondents opposed new taxes until cost reductions are demonstrated. Several supported a modest 1-cent sales tax increase if funds are demonstrably used for fire safety and infrastructure. There was strong support for shifting costs to visitors through higher parking fees, trolley fares, and littering fines, and interest in taxing vacant second homes and long-vacant commercial properties.
• Programs to reduce, expand, or re-evaluate: Respondents identified Marine Safety management positions, the Laguna Local trolley, and Visit Laguna Beach tourism marketing as candidates for reduction. They supported expanding beach enforcement (trash, alcohol, smoking), ambulance services, and parking meter modernization (pay-by-plate / pay-by-phone).
Overall tone: A significant share of respondents expressed skepticism toward City decision-making and called for greater fiscal discipline and transparency before considering new revenue. A smaller number were positive about the City's current direction. Common closing themes were "put residents first," "make visitors and external agencies pay for their impacts," and "demonstrate fiscal discipline before asking for more revenue."
Note: The online survey reflects 26 self-selected responses and is not a statistically valid sample. For statistically valid voter sentiment, see the Probolsky Research 2026 Voter Poll Results (Attachment 1). 48