HHSC Work Plan Draft - June 2026
1 Housing and Human Services Committee Work Plan
July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2028
Task/
Subtask
Description
A Identify opportunities to promote an increase in market rate housing, affordable housing, and housing that may be attainable to households earning the area median income. To meet the variety of needs within the community and to make progress on State requirements to plan for a share of the regional housing need, the HHSC will identify opportunities to encourage an increase in housing stock. The recommendations would address both conventional affordable housing projects as well as housing models that may be moderately affordable by design (e.g. accessory dwelling units and adaptive reuse). Specifically, the HHSC will identify opportunities on the following topics:
1 Mixed Use: Housing Element Program 5.2-1.i directs the City to evaluate the potential for mixed-use (retail, office and residential) and work/live spaces along Coast Highway, Broadway and Glenneyre and on vacant or underutilized commercial properties elsewhere. On June 11, 2024, the City Council adopted the Housing Ordinance which reduced constraints on mixed-use development along Coast Highway with a focus on underdeveloped commercial sites.
HHSC will create outreach opportunities to educate potential stakeholders on the new development standards and to better understand the barriers that previously limited opportunities for upper floor residential additions to existing commercial buildings and new mixed-use development. Among the outreach activities HHSC will consider are open house meetings with property owners, presentations to special groups, one on one meetings with property owners to encourage consideration of such development.
In this regard, HHSC will consider incentives beyond the new development standards adopted on June 11, 2024, that may be offered to such property owners to stimulate residential development.
2 Adaptive Reuse: Underutilized existing structures (offices, stores) represent a significant opportunity to increase housing stock with a benefit to the property and City of a shorter timeline needed to achieve completion. Because of likely smaller unit size, such conversions from commercial use to residential use may be “naturally” affordable. Housing Element Policy HE-2.11 encourages adaptive reuse of buildings for housing. Existing zoning and safety regulations limit the ability to facilitate adaptive reuse. HHSC will investigate and identify alternative zoning and safety regulations to create a feasible path to adaptive reuse.
3 Affordable Sites: HHSC will continue to identify additional potential sites, beyond those identified in the Housing Element, for development or redevelopment of affordable housing. In line with Housing Element Program 5.2-7a, HHSC will support HHSC Work Plan Draft - June 2026
2 the City in any outreach to religious institutions regarding developing affordable housing on their properties.
4 Affordable Housing Information: Proposals for new-build affordable units are often met with resistance by neighbors and members of the community. In line with Housing Element Program 5.2-10.e, HHSC will consider how to assist the community to better understand:
• The facts behind a proposed development
• To correct misconceptions about the proposed project and its impacts • To advise the developer on how to best interface with the public • Be a point of contact for developers considering projects to receive input on working through the process within the City of Laguna Beach 5 Work/Live Artist: Work/Live Artist housing is an urgent need in Laguna Beach as the community works to preserve its history as a center for working artists. HHSC will continue to explore and identify opportunities that encourage and support the continued availability of existing and the development of new Work/Live Artist housing in support of 2024 City Council Priority #5. HHSC will work with the City on any endeavors that highlight the importance of sustaining Laguna Beach’s creative culture.
B Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) are options for adding much needed housing in California. Since 2016, State ADU Laws have continued to evolve to further lower barriers to the development of more affordable housing. HHSC will assist the City in ongoing efforts in creating and managing ADUs in Laguna Beach. 1 ADU Legalization. There continues to be a significant number of non-permitted ADUs (typically units built prior to 2015). The major concern with non-permitted units is safety. State law changes in 2025 have made the path to legal units much easier (e.g. the unit must meet the building code requirements when the unit was built, as opposed to current building code, which would often be very costly). The committee will offer assistance to the City in any ADU Amnesty Program that might be created. 2 ADU utilization as primary living unit. The City does not have statistics on how many ADUs are used as primary living units. HHSC will consider ways to survey ADU owners to learn of the impact of ADUs on the City’s housing stock.
C Protecting Tenants’rights is a critical part of maintaining existing affordable rental housing stock.
1 Affordable Housing compliance and tenant selection. Laguna Beach has relatively few income-restricted affordable housing projects. Such projects are legally required to follow specific procedures in assuring that qualified tenants are chosen in a manner that conforms to the contractual requirements of the particular project. HHSC will continue working with City staff to follow up on research previously conducted HHSC Work Plan Draft - June 2026
3 regarding existing affordable housing units and assist in the development and implementation of a compliance plan. Efforts will focus on improving monitoring, preserving affordability requirements, identifying opportunities for increased transparency and accountability, and supporting long-term stewardship of the City’s affordable housing inventory in Laguna Beach.
D In April, 2024, the City established a Local Housing Trust Fund as a financing mechanism to build, rehabilitate, and preserve affordable housing. (Housing Element Program 5.2-9.d). The City Council also directed staff to facilitate the establishment of a land trust, resulting in the Laguna Beach Community Land Trust (LBCLT), a nonprofit organization created to acquire land and preserve permanent, affordable spaces for artists, seniors, and the local workforce.
1 Permanent Affordable Housing Funding. HHSC will continue to identify approaches to establishing additional permanent revenue streams to the Housing Trust Fund beyond property and transient occupancy taxes. In line with Housing Element Program
5.2-9.e, HHSC will seek to identify additional potential grant sources of housing funding. HHSC will review funding and expenditures of the Housing Trust Fund in line with the adopted Laguna Beach Local Housing Trust Fund Administrative Guidelines. 2 HHSC will collaborate with the newly established Community Land Trust to explore and advance strategies that preserve long-term housing affordability in Laguna Beach.
This partnership will focus on identifying potential acquisition and development opportunities, supporting community education and outreach efforts, and evaluating tools that help maintain housing accessibility.
E Housing Element. HHSC is listed as one of the responsible agencies to assist in implementing Housing Programs 5.2-7 through 5.2-10 included in the 6th Cycle Housing Element.
1 Program Implementation. HHSC is prepared to assist City staff in implementing tasks related to these items in the Housing Element beyond those listed in this work plan. The committee can also assist as needed in the updates for the next Housing Element.
2 Progress Report. City staff will present the draft Housing Element Annual Progress Report (APR) to HHSC prior to presenting the APR to City Council.
F While Laguna Beach is often perceived as a community of great wealth, there is in fact a significant part of the population with modest means. A focus of HHSC is understanding residents' needs and evaluating how successfully the City addresses them.
HHSC Work Plan Draft - June 2026
4 1 Invite local community agencies to HHSC meetings to explain their mission and their services for residents. HHSC will continue to invite agency representatives to meetings to give brief presentations so committee members can gain a thorough understanding of their outreach efforts.
2 Mental health needs of the community. Access to mental health services promotes increased community stability and wellness. HHSC will research whether the City could benefit from more mental health support and resources. One particular focus will be examining if such services would relieve law enforcement and other responders of the time burden of non-emergency mental health calls and allow them to focus on more urgent requests.
3 Increase community awareness of social services available in Laguna Beach. The Committee believes social services could be better promoted to community members and City workforce. Previously, HHSC hosted a “Safety Net Tour” open house, allowing people to visit various social service sites to learn about resources. A next step is a communication campaign to embed information about resources within the City.
HHSC will meet with City staff to learn of ongoing digital and analog efforts and research additional strategies for staff consideration. 4 Survey local human service nonprofits to learn the most critical needs and any gaps in social services. A goal of HHSC is to assist the City in responding to the variety of needs of residents at all stages of life. Service providers hear every day about their clients’ concerns. HHSC will engage with these local nonprofits to survey client needs and learn about gaps in services. In addition, organizations can provide feedback about ways to close those gaps. The feedback from surveys will be consolidated in a report to the City and, if appropriate, relayed to the nonprofits to assist in coordinating services.
5 Increase community awareness of policies and programs related to housing.
HHSC will coordinate with City staff to learn how the committee can assist with increasing residents’ knowledge about salient issues concerning housing and human services. This could also include more information about the newly formed Land Trust and support for the Downtown Strategic Plan Phase II.