Local News in Brief : Laguna Beach : South Laguna Becomes Part of the City Today
More than 5,000 people will become new residents of Laguna Beach today, but nothing much will change immediately except the location of a large sign that has stood for more than a decade at Nyes Place and South Coast Highway.
The wooden sign, which reads “Laguna Beach. Home of the Festival of Arts and Pageant of the Masters,” has been moved about two miles down the coast to mark the new southerly city limits resulting from annexation of the community of South Laguna, effective today.
Aside from that, City Manager Kenneth C. Frank said, about the only physical evidence of the change will be the appearance of blue and white Laguna Beach police cars, replacing the Sheriff Department’s black and white patrol units.
The sign will be unveiled in a brief ceremony at 8 a.m., with Mayor Dan Kenney, Mayor Pro Tem Robert F. Gentry and other city officials present.
Annexation will bring the city’s population to more than 23,000 and will seal the fate of another smaller sign on Coast Highway, a couple of blocks south of Nyes Place.
It was an official-looking sign made of metal, green with white letters reading: “Laguna Beach. Population 18,650. Elev. 25 feet.”
Ross Cox, of the city’s Planning Department, said it will be removed and a new one will be installed. He said the exact population figure it will show has not been determined.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
