ORDINANCE NO. XXXX
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF LAGUNA BEACH, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING ITS
MUNICIPAL CODE TO MODIFY CHAPTER 7.25 (NOISE),
12.08 (PRESERVATION OF HERITAGE TREES), 12.16
(VIEW PRESERVATION AND RESTORATION), AND 17.50
(PRIVATE SEWER LATERALS) TO IMPROVE
CONSISTENCY WITHIN THE CODE; AND FINDING SAID
ACTION EXEMPT FROM THE CALIFORNIA
ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT UNDER CEQA
GUIDELINES SECTION 15301
WHEREAS, the City of Laguna Beach, California (“City”) is a municipal corporation, duly organized under the California Constitution and laws of the State of California; and WHEREAS, pursuant to the police powers delegated to it by the California Constitution, the City has the authority to enact laws which promote the public health, safety, and general welfare of its citizens; and
WHEREAS, periodically the City identifies sections of its Municipal Code that are outdated, unclear, conflict with other Municipal Code sections, or warrant modifications to improve or enhance the functions and operations of the City; and WHEREAS, under its police power, the City Council desires to amend its Municipal Code to streamline the design review and other permit processes within the City; and WHEREAS, all other legal prerequisites to the adoption of this Ordinance have occurred.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LAGUNA BEACH DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Recitals. The recitals set forth above are true and correct and are hereby adopted as findings in support of this Ordinance as if fully set forth herein. -2- Ord. XXXX
SECTION 2. Code Amendment. Section 7.25.130 (Heating, venting, pool/spa and air conditioning—special provisions) of Chapter 7.25 (Noise) of Title 7 (Health and Sanitation) is hereby amended as follows (additions shown in underline and deletion shown in strikethrough):
Section 7.25.130 (Heating, venting, and air conditioning (HVAC) and pool/spa equipment and air conditioning—special provisions)
(A) Permits for heating, venting, and air conditioning (HVAC) and pool/spa equipment in or adjacent to residential areas shall be issued only after the installation contractor signs an acknowledgment that the installation will meet the noise limits established in Section 7.25.040 of this chapter.
(B) Applicants of mechanical permits for commercial HVAC equipment may be required to submit a detailed acoustical study that demonstrates compliance with the noise limits established in Section 7.25.040 of this chapter. (C) Permits for HVAC and pool/spa equipment air conditioning units and pool and spa in or adjacent to residential areas shall be reviewed and approved without Design Review if they comply with all of the following requirements:
(1) The mechanical equipment is ground-mounted or wall-mounted at ground level.
(2) The mechanical equipment is not within the required front or side yard setbacks.
(3) The mechanical equipment must maintain a five-foot clearance from all property lines.
(4) A manufacturer's specification sheet for the mechanical equipment must be provided with the application and include the decibel rating. The maximum decibel level is sixty dB during the day and fifty dB at night, with the exception that the measurement shall be taken at the property line. Two sound attenuation techniques shall be utilized to minimize noise impacts.
Examples of sound attenuation techniques include, but are not limited to, physical enclosures such as fencing with insulation, internal sound compression blanket, and shock absorption base. Sound attenuation techniques must be used and maintained in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications for the life of the equipment. (5) Completion of a form provided by the city detailing how the project meets maximum sound level requirements measured at the property line. The method of computation required is specified in Standard 275 "Standard -3- Ord. XXXX
Application of Sound Rated Outdoor Unitary Equipment" of the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute (ARI), 1984, as amended. (6) The mechanical equipment would not obstruct a 3-foot path of travel around any structure.
(D) Air conditioning units HVAC and spa/pool equipment that do not meet the above requirements shall be reviewed and approved in conformance with the requirements of Section 25.05.040 Design Review.
SECTION 3. Code Amendment. Subdivision (b) of Section 12.08.030 (Heritage tree incentives) of Chapter 12.08 (Preservation of Heritage Trees) of Title 12 (Trees and Vegetation) shall be amended as follows:
(b) The tree(s) shall be placed on the heritage tree list, and a certificate shall be presented to the owner. Notice of the existence of a heritage tree shall be included in the property file and in the real property report issued by the city when property is sold. Heritage tree owners are also eligible for the following benefits related to potential development improvements to property on which one or more heritage trees are located. The granting of any benefit shall be conditioned upon a written agreement between the city and the property owner ensuring the continued preservation and maintenance of the heritage tree(s) located on the subject property.
The written agreement shall include a provision requiring subsequent heritage tree owners to continue preservation and maintenance.
SECTION 4. Code Amendment. Subdivision (b) of Section 12.16.040 (View Preservation) of Chapter 12.16 (View Preservation and Restoration) of Title 12 (Trees and Vegetation) shall be amended as follows:
(b) Record of Views. Upon the filing for a record of views, city staff shall conduct a site visit and photographically document the significantly unimpaired view of the property owner from the property owner's selected viewing locations or areas. A record of views shall be prepared, maintained in the applicable property address files, and noted in any real property report required by Chapter 14.76. Staff shall send written notice to affected vegetation property owners within five hundred feet informing them of the record of views and their associated maintenance responsibilities.
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SECTION 3. Code Amendment. Section 12.16.100 (View decisions binding on future owners—Disclosure obligations) of Chapter 12.16 (View Preservation and Restoration) of Title 12 (Trees and Vegetation) shall be amended as follows:
Decisions made by city staff and the view restoration committee regarding view restoration and view preservation run with the land and shall be binding on the claimant and the vegetation owner and their heirs, successors and assigns. Such decisions, to the extent permitted, shall be recorded in the official records of the county of Orange. In addition, such decisions shall be set forth in any real property report required by Chapter 14.76 and should be disclosed by each owner to prospective purchasers of their properties.
SECTION 4. Code Amendment. Section 17.50.053 (Requirements for video inspection and private sewer lateral inspection reports) of Chapter 17.50 (Private Sewer Laterals) of Title 17 (Sewers) is hereby amended to repeal subdivision (e) and renumber the subdivisions in chronological order.
SECTION 5. Severability. If any section, sentence, clause or phrase of this Ordinance or the application thereof to any entity, person or circumstance is held for any reason to be invalid or unconstitutional, such invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect other provisions or applications of this Ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this Ordinance are severable. The City Council of the City of Laguna Beach hereby declares that it would have adopted this Ordinance and each section, sentence, clause or phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more section, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 6. CEQA. This Ordinance is exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to State 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, -5- Ord. XXXX
involving negligible or no expansion of existing or former use. Here, this ordinance meets the exemption because the City is amending its code to resolve inconsistencies and is not authorizing new uses or development. City staff is directed to cause to be filed within five calendar days a notice of exemption with the County and State Clearinghouse.
SECTION 7. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall become effective thirty (30) days following its adoption by the City Council and upon concurrence by the California Coastal Commission.
SECTION 8. Publication. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Ordinance.
Not later than fifteen (15) days following the passage of this Ordinance, the Ordinance, or a summary thereof, along with the names of the City Council members voting for and against the Ordinance, shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the City.
ADOPTED this _____ day of ____________, 2026.
Mark Orgill, Mayor
Ann Marie McKay, City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
____________
Megan Garibaldi, City Attorney
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I, Ann Marie McKay, City Clerk of the City of Laguna Beach, do hereby certify that the foregoing Ordinance No. XXXX was introduced at a regular meeting of the City Council on _______________, 2026, and was finally adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of said City held on _______________, 2026, by the following vote:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBER(S):
NOES: COUNCILMEMBER(S):
ABSTAIN: COUNCILMEMBER(S):
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBER(S):
City Clerk, City of Laguna Beach, CA
.