STAFF REPORT
Meeting Date:
July 21, 2026
NON APPEAL
15 SUBJECT: ADOPTION OF THE DESIGN REVIEW EFFICIENCY ORDINANCE,
EFFICIENCY ORDINANCE, AND RESOLUTION AMENDING THE DESIGN
REVIEW GUIDELINES AND PUBLIC HEARING AND ADOPTION OF AN
URGENCY ORDINANCE VERSION OF THE DESIGN REVIEW EFFICIENCY
ORDINANCE
RECOMMENDATION: It is recommended that the City Council:
1. Waive second full reading and adopt by title only an Ordinance titled, "AN ORDINANCE OF THE
CITY COUNCIL OF LAGUNA BEACH, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING ITS LOCAL COASTAL PROGRAM AND MUNICIPAL CODE TO MODIFY TITLE 25 (ZONING), TITLE 21 (SUBDIVISIONS), AND TITLE 22 (EXCAVATING, GRADING, AND FILLING) TO STREAMLINE THE DESIGN REVIEW AND OTHER PERMIT PROCESSES; AND FINDING
SAID ACTION EXEMPT FROM THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT UNDER CEQA GUIDELINES SECTION 15301;
2. Waive second full reading and adopt by title only an Ordinance titled, "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”;
3. Adopt a Resolution titled “A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
LAGUNA BEACH, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING ITS LOCAL COASTAL PROGRAM TO MODIFY THE DESIGN GUIDELINES – A GUIDE TO RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT, AND
FINDING SAID ACTION EXEMPT FROM THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT UNDER CEQA GUIDELINES SECTION 15301”;
4. Conduct a public hearing, waive full reading and adopt by title only an Urgency Ordinance titled, “AN URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LAGUNA BEACH,
CALIFORNIA, AMENDING ITS LOCAL COASTAL PROGRAM AND MUNICIPAL CODE TO MODIFY TITLE 25 (ZONING), TITLE 21 (SUBDIVISIONS), AND TITLE 22 (EXCAVATING, GRADING, AND FILLING) TO STREAMLINE THE DESIGN REVIEW AND OTHER PERMIT PROCESSES; AND FINDING SAID ACTION EXEMPT FROM THE
CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT UNDER CEQA GUIDELINES SECTION 15301”; and
5. Find that the recommended actions are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301 and in the alternative is statutorily exempt under CEQA Guidelines Section 15265.
Attachment 4
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SUMMARY OF THE MATTER
A. Non-Urgency Adoptions: DR Efficiency Ordinance, Resolution amending the DR Guidelines, and the Efficiency Ordinance
On June 23, 2026, the City Council read into the record certain modifications, which were generally clerical in nature, and unanimously introduced for first reading an ordinance amending its municipal code and certified Local Coastal Program (“LCP”) to modify Title 25 (Zoning), Title 21 (Subdivisions), and Title 22 (Excavating, Grading, and Filling) to streamline the design review and other processes (the “DR Efficiency Ordinance”). (Attachment 1.) At the same hearing, the City Council also introduced for first reading an ordinance amending its municipal code to modify Chapter 7.25 (Noise), Chapter 12.08 (Preservation of Heritage Trees), Chapter 12.16 (View Preservation and Restoration), and Chapter 17.50 (Private Sewer Laterals) to improve consistency within the Laguna Beach Municipal Code (the “Efficiency Ordinance”). (Attachment 2.) The staff report for the June 23, 2026 City Council meeting on this item is attached as Attachment 3.
As part of the amendment to the LCP and as directed by the City Council on June 23, 2026, City staff is presenting amendments to the Design Guidelines – A Guide to Residential Development (the “DR Guidelines”) to reflect the corresponding changes to the design review criteria reflected in the DR Efficiency Ordinance. (Attachment 4.) Like the DR Efficiency Ordinance, the Resolution amending the DR Guidelines will modify the 16 design review criteria to reflect the following 11 criteria.
1. Access
2. Design Articulation
3. Environmental Context
4. General Plan Compliance
5. Historic Preservation
6. Landscaping
7. Lighting and Glare
8. Neighborhood Compatibility
9. Pedestrian Orientation
10. Privacy
11. View Equity
Like the DR Efficiency Ordinance, the Resolution amending the DR Guidelines will remove the following criteria: Design Integrity; Public Art; Sign Quality; Sustainability; and Swimming Pools, Spas, and Water Features.
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The DR Efficiency Ordinance, Efficiency Ordinance, and the Resolution amending the DR Guidelines are presented to the City Council for adoption. Given that the DR Efficiency Ordinance and Resolution amending the DR Guidelines (LCPA 2026-0382) require certification by the California Coastal Commission before becoming effective, City staff is also presenting an urgency version of the DR Efficiency Ordinance.1
B. Urgency Adoption
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the proposed urgency ordinance of the DR Efficiency Ordinance (the “Urgency Ordinance”), which will ensure that the City may begin implementing the streamlining changes during the pendency of the Coastal Commission review and certification of the nonurgency DR Efficiency Ordinance. (Attachment 5.) California Government Code Section 36937 provides that an ordinance takes effect immediately if the ordinance is for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health or safety, containing a declaration of the facts constituting the urgency, and is passed by a four-fifth vote of the City Council. California Government Code Section 65858 provides that, without following the procedures otherwise required prior to the adoption of a zoning ordinance, an urgency measure in the form of an interim ordinance may be adopted by a four-fifths vote of the City Council to protect the public from a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety, or welfare resulting from a contemplated zoning proposal. Government Code Section 65868 further provides that such an urgency measure shall be effective for only 45 days following its adoption, but may be extended beyond the initial 45 day period, following notice pursuant to Government Code Section 65090 and a public hearing, for an additional 22 months and 15 days. (Gov. Code Section 65858(b).) Ten days prior to expiration of the initial 45 day period, or any extension, the City Council must issue a report describing the measures taken to alleviate the condition that led to the adoption of the ordinance. (Gov. Code Section 65858(d).)
Here, there is a current and immediate threat to the public health, safety, and welfare since the DR Efficiency Ordinance amends the City’s LCP and the Coastal Act requires that the Coastal Commission review and certify the DR Efficiency Ordinance before it becomes effective. (Pub. Res. Code, § 30514(a); see also Laguna Beach Municipal Code, § 25.07.026(E).) The duration of the Coastal Commission’s review and certification process can vary, and, in some instances, has taken numerous months. The City Council desires to ensure that ensure that the City’s Municipal Code and LCP are consistent to improve and enhance the functions and operations of the City and to prevent the City from falling back into a backlog of processing applications, especially in light of state-mandated housing laws that demand the City process applications efficiently and timely, during the pendency of the DR Efficiency Ordinance’s review by the Coastal Commission.
1 Unlike the DR Efficiency Ordinance and the Resolution amending The Design Guidelines, the Efficiency Ordinance does not amend the City’s certified Local Coastal Program. As such, the Efficiency Ordinance will take effect 30 days following City Council adoption, and staff is not recommending adoption of an urgency ordinance version. 102
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FINANCIAL ANALYSIS
The recommended action has no financial impact to the budget.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
The recommended actions are exempt under the California Environmental Quality Act under 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, involving negligible or no expansion of existing or former use. Here, the recommended actions meet the exemption because the City is amending its codes to improve procedural efficiencies and to comply with state law. The City is not authorizing new uses that are not already established within the City through the actions. Furthermore, and as an alternative, under State CEQA Guidelines Section 15265, CEQA does not apply to activities and approvals pursuant to the Coastal Act necessary for the preparation and adoption of a local coastal program because the Coastal Commission’s LCP review and approval procedures have been found to be functionally equivalent to the environmental review process. Therefore, the recommended actions amending the City’s local coastal program are statutorily exempt from CEQA. Upon taking the recommended action, city staff will cause to be filed within five calendar days a notice of exemption with the county and state clearinghouse.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Design Review Efficiency Ordinance (Pgs. 5-77)
2. Efficiency Ordinance (Pgs. 78-83)
3. 6/23/26 CC Staff Report (Pgs. 84-87)
4. Resolution Amending The Design Guidelines – A Guide to Residential Development (Pgs. 88-190)
5. Proposed Urgency Design Review Efficiency Ordinance (Pgs. 191-274) Submitted By: Matthew Schneider Approved: Dave Kiff.
Matthew Schneider, Director of
Community Development
Dave Kiff, City Manager
Report Prepared By: Coordinated With:
Anthony Viera, Deputy Director of Community
Development
Jane Abzug, Assistant City Attorney
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