Laguna Beach City Council - January 6, 2026

January 6, 2026

Executive Summary

- The Laguna Beach City Council held a Special Appeals Meeting on January 6, 2026, to hear three separate appeals of Design Review Board decisions - The first item (3A) was a continuation of an appeal from the October 28, 2025 Council meeting regarding landscape modifications at 1813 Temple Hills Drive; staff recommended denying the appeal and upholding the Design Review Board's approval - The second and third items (3B and 3C) involved appeals of Design Review Board denials for new single-family dwelling construction at 1550 Bluebird Canyon Drive (Lot A) and 1560 Bluebird Canyon Drive (Lot B) in the R-1 zone - Both Bluebird Canyon appeals involved Coastal Development Permits and offered the Council two options: uphold the Design Review Board's denial (Option A) or overturn the denial and approve the projects (Option B) - The 1560 Bluebird Canyon Drive property (Lot B) had previously been remanded back to the Design Review Board by the City Council on August 12, 2025 - All three appeals followed specific procedural requirements under state law and local ordinances, including whether the Council could conduct de novo review or only review for abuse of discretion - Written public com

Key Decisions

- No specific decisions were recorded in the provided agenda document; the agenda outlines the items scheduled for consideration and the options available to the Council for each appeal - For Item 3A (1813 Temple Hills Drive), staff recommended the Council deny the appeal and uphold the Design Review Board's approval via Resolution, finding the project categorically exempt under CEQA Section 15304 (Class 4) - For Item 3B (1550 Bluebird Canyon Drive), the Council was presented with two resolution options: uphold the Design Review Board's denial (Option A) or overturn the denial and approve the