Laguna Beach City Council - JULY 8, 2025

July 8, 2025

Executive Summary

- Laguna Beach City Council conducted a closed session on existing litigation including the Rene Baxter-Payne v. City of Laguna Beach case and real property negotiations for four properties including 1437 Cerritos Drive, 1000 Fernando Avenue, 265 Woodland Drive, and one APN-only property - Council presented service recognition awards and introduced Dr. Jason Glass as the new Superintendent of Laguna Beach Unified School District - Council approved revised Underground Utility Assessment District Formation Policy, reducing signature requirements from 60% to 50% and eliminating the $500 initial deposit requirement per property owner - Council reviewed compensation structure for the elected City Clerk position, considering whether to maintain a salary range or establish a single base salary and whether to implement a pre-election salary review policy - Council approved a three-day suspension of the Festival of Arts sound policy on November 7, 8, and 9, 2025, to allow sound consultant Rincon Consultants, Inc. to measure and analyze sound during real-life concerts - Council upheld the Planning Commission's approval of Design Review 25-0697 for modified exterior paint colors at the Forest

Key Decisions

- Approved revised Underground Utility Assessment District Formation Policy reducing petition threshold from 60% to 50% of property owners and eliminating $500 initial deposit requirement - Authorized City Manager Dave Kiff to execute Memorandum of Understanding with Moulton Niguel Water District for OASIS Water Resource Center Project collaboration - Awarded contract to Engeo in the amount of $198,000 for geological analysis and wave run-up studies for enclosed lifeguard towers project - Authorized additional scope of work for Rincon Consultants, Inc. in an amount not to exceed $7,592 to meas