Hi Folks & a Happy June to You —

 

I know I’m early, surprise surprise, but what follows is my Council agenda summary for the City Council meeting set for Tuesday, June 9^th, 2026. 

 

In the Agenda summary, I cover what I think are the more noteworthy items that will appear on the Council agendas.  If you want to see the entire agenda, click here.   My agenda summary doesn’t include all of the items up for consideration – just ones that I think should have additional community awareness.  Please share this with others if you represent a neighborhood association (thanks!).  Our meetings generally start at 5:00 p.m. on the 2^nd and 4^th Tuesdays of the month at Laguna Beach City Hall, 505 Forest Avenue – the meeting is in the Council Chambers adjacent to Fire Station #1. 

 

Before I dive into it, I wanted to update you on Laguna Canyon Road – I had planned to make a presentation and ask for direction on signing a “State of Good Repair” letter that is a step within the relinquishment process at this June 9 meeting.   As some folks know, we had a Town Hall about it, and presented a draft staff report on our agenda page.  That town hall made me think about some key things that folks felt were unanswered – and I acknowledge that my answers left something to be desired.  That made me think more that I really needed to dig in further and effectively answer the questions to the Council’s and residents’ satisfaction.  So I asked Caltrans for more time for the City to tell Caltrans whether we would sign the letter (again, only one step in a long relinquishment process).  They agreed to give more time, though at least the end of 2026.  So over the next several months, I’ll continue to work on this issue with the staff, the public, and Council to secure those answers, not bringing something back until the questions are addressed.  I thank all who participated in these discussions to date, and promise to keep up the dialogue with you all.    

 

Study Session (starting at 3:00 p.m.)  

This week the Council will hold interviews for a number of Commission and Committee appointments.  Then, they’ll get a summary of a recent Community Survey that went out in May, as a follow-up to a similar one in October 2025.  The survey polled about 400 people on city issues, as well as stating positive and negative sides of revenue measures that could be considered for the November 2026 ballot.  I heard from a number of folks who were polled.  Some folks asked me “why do you ask leading questions in there?  Is it because you want a specific answer?”  Actually, no.  Some of the questions were indeed leaning – and others leaned back the other way.  We want to know how folks respond when presented with various arguments.  It would be kind of foolish of us to set up a poll that told us what we wanted to hear, versus how folks actually felt.  Please take the time to read the results – I found them pretty interesting.  At the end of the presentation and discussion, Council will be asked to give us some direction on whether to bring something back to them (in a public meeting) about a revenue measure.  Again, Study Sessions are for discussion – not adoption.      

 

Council’s Regular Session (starts at 5:00 p.m.)

I’ll highlight these items:

• Providence Mission Hospital’s Chief Executive, Seth Teigen, will make a presentation (with Q&A) as to the preliminary vision forMission Hospital, Laguna Beach.  This issue is very important, and well worth a tune-in during the meeting.
• There are proposed  amendments to the Council Policy Manual, which are minor but I never want anyone to think I won’t highlight these – one has to do with protecting employee medical information, and another allows the Council to start regular business meetings – sporadically, not as a regular practice – earlier in the day at 3:00 if circumstances warrant it (like next meeting, when the Sawdust’s 60^th anniversary occurs later that night).  Remember too that soon Zoom meetings begin again – those come back in July.
• We’ll talk a bit about plan options for the Village Green Park playground – our friends in South Laguna will want to take a look.
• Our great Fire and Emergency Management team will update the Council and community on progress with the 2025 Wildfire Mitigation and Fire Safety Plan – lots of important things have been accomplished.
• There is one DRB appeal item planned for hearing  – 31565 Eagle Rock Way (oops, I just noted that my Agenda Summary last time suggested that this would go to JULY 9, not June 9.  31565 Eagle Rock will be heard at this June 9^th meeting – sorry about that).  399 Pearl Street is proposed to be continued to July 28^th.

 

I’m sorry to miss the final Community Pool Party this coming Friday – gonna miss that place (I’ve been swimming there since 1996!). I’m traveling north to my niece’s HS graduation, so folks will have to send me photos of dogs enjoying their one and only pool swim.

 

As always, thanks for reading.  Also, please join us if you can at the actual meeting.   If you don’t want to be on this email list, please let me know and I’ll remove you (no hard feelings – we all get a lot of emails).

 

Dave Kiff City Manager, City of Laguna Beach 505 Forest Avenue Laguna Beach, CA  92651 949-497-0704 | dkiff@lagunabeachcity.net

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