RESOLUTION NO. 26-__
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF LAGUNA BEACH, CALIFORNIA,
RATIFYING THE OCTOBER 9, 2026
PROCLAMATION OF A LOCAL EMERGENCY
ISSUED BY THE DIRECTOR OF EMERGENCY
SERVICES ARISING FROM TROPICAL STORM
RACHEL SWELL CONDITIONS AND THE
ANTICIPATED EL NIÑO SEASON, AND
TERMINATING THE PRIOR LOCAL EMERGENCY
DECLARED ON SEPTEMBER 10, 2026 RELATED
TO HURRICANE MARIE
WHEREAS, on October 9, 2026, the City Manager, acting as Director of Emergency Services (“Director”) pursuant to Sections 2.16.050 and 2.16.060 of the Laguna Beach Municipal Code, proclaimed the existence of a local emergency within the City arising from coastal erosion, flooding, and sand loss caused by swell from Tropical Storm Rachel;1 and the threat of further damage from the anticipated El Niño storm season, a true and correct copy of which Proclamation is attached hereto as Exhibit A and incorporated herein by this reference; and
WHEREAS, Section 2.16.060(A)(1) of the Laguna Beach Municipal Code provides that whenever a local emergency is proclaimed by the Director, the City Council shall take action to ratify the proclamation within seven days thereafter or the proclamation shall have no further force or effect, and Government Code section 8630(b) imposes the same seven-day requirement; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has reviewed the Proclamation and finds that the conditions of disaster and extreme peril to the safety of persons and property described therein continue to exist within the City; and
WHEREAS, Government Code section 8630(c) requires the City Council to review the need for continuing the local emergency at least once every 60 days until it is terminated, and Section 8630(d) requires the City Council to proclaim termination at the earliest possible date that conditions warrant.
WHEREAS, the conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property that existed within the City as a result of the significant surf, rip currents, and sand 1 At the time of drafting, Rachel was classified as a tropical storm. In the event this tropical storm is reclassified (i.e., hurricane, tropical depression, etc.), the findings, analysis and emergency declaration all remain applicable
movement from Hurricane Marie that resulted in the September 9, 2026 Declaration of Local Emergency are no longer present.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LAGUNA BEACH DOES HEREBY RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The foregoing recitals are true and correct and are incorporated herein by this reference.
SECTION 2. The Proclamation of a Local Emergency issued by the Director of Emergency Services on October 9, 2026, attached hereto as Exhibit A, is hereby ratified and confirmed in its entirety.
SECTION 3. The local emergency so ratified shall continue in effect for a period of sixty (60) days from the date of adoption of this Resolution, unless sooner terminated by the City Council or further extended by resolution of the City Council. The City Council shall review the need for continuing the local emergency at least once every 60 days until it is terminated, and shall proclaim its termination at the earliest possible date that conditions warrant.
SECTION 4. The Director is hereby directed to take all steps warranted to evaluate the extent of the damage resulting from the local emergency and, if appropriate, to seek financial assistance, including but not limited to, through efforts with the County of Orange and/or the State of California, including through the California Disaster Assistance Act, if it has been identified that local resources are insufficient and the emergency situation is beyond the City’s capabilities.
SECTION 5. The September 10, 2026 Declaration of Local Emergency related to the significant surf, rip currents, and sand movement from Hurricane Marie in the City is hereby terminated.
SECTION 6. The City Council finds that this action is not a project subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 15378 because it is an organizational and administrative activity that will not result in a direct or indirect physical change to the environment, or in the alternative, that the proposed action is exempt from CEQA pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 15269 (Emergency Projects).
SECTION 7. This Resolution shall take effect immediately upon its adoption. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Resolution.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this ____ day of October, 2026. _______________________________________
Mark Orgill, Mayor
ATTEST:_______________________________________
Ann Marie McKay, City Clerk
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF ORANGE ) ss.
CITY OF LAGUNA BEACH )
I, Ann Marie McKay, City Clerk of the City of Laguna Beach, California, do hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution No. 26-____ was duly adopted by the City Council of the City of Laguna Beach at a regular meeting thereof held on the ____ day of October, 2026, by the following vote:
AYES: COUNCILMEMBER(S):
NOES: COUNCILMEMBER(S):
ABSENT: COUNCILMEMBER(S):
ABSTAIN: COUNCILMEMBER(S):
_______________________________________
Ann Marie McKay, City Clerk
EXHIBIT A
Proclamation of the Emergency Services Director Declaring a Local Emergency, executed October 9, 2026