Too much shade? Laguna weighs a beach canopy ban
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As the rules stand today, people enjoying a day on the sands along Laguna Beach’s coastline are allowed to put up temporary shade structures as long as they are no more than 6 feet in height and length. Obviously, setting up such multi-posted, pop-up shades has become a common practice at beaches everywhere, not just along Laguna’s storied shoreline.
But, as city staff members were coming up with suggested ordinance amendments related to permitting special events, they learned there was concern among local public safety officials that, as more and more people seek summer respite at the shore during peak seasons, such structures, especially if there’s a multitude of them, can block the view or pathways of the lifeguards tasked with keeping everyone safe.
At a recent meeting, the Laguna Beach City Council, presented with the staff’s findings, discussed the possibility of banning such shade structures on its beaches outright, or perhaps just seaward from lifeguard stations, according to this report in the Daily Pilot.
“The catalyst for this conversation, at least from the marine safety perspective, was purely view, because it was very difficult for us to see, particularly around those multi-post canopies, but we can enforce it any way the council desires — whether it’s allowing it, disallowing it, or putting them behind our lifeguard towers,” Marine Safety Chief Kai Bond is quoted as saying.
Resident Greg Viviani, who said he’d grown up in town, spoke during the meeting in support of a ban on large shade coverings. “I’ve seen canopies popping up more, and more, and more, and people bringing more stuff. Our beaches can’t handle it,” he said.
Requiring beach-goers to use nothing larger than traditional beach umbrellas for shade, he suggested, would not keep visitors away.
“Going to beach umbrellas isn’t going to price people out of our town, which obviously is a concern for that kind of situation,” Viviani said. “I think that ... the safety, the view visibility, obviously, and for parents to see their kids when they’re in the water, all that is a big, major concern.”
An outright ban on the multi-legged structures might make more sense than only allowing them to be set up behind lifeguard towers, Councilmember Alex Rounaghi posited.
“I want to be making this based on public safety, and so I just see an enforcement issue, if we have to be like, ‘Oh, you’re supposed to have it over here.’ … I think that’s just complicated, so I would start with [a ban at] the beaches, and I would apply it there. That would be my approach.”
It’s expected the matter will be back before the City Council, possibly as soon as next month, according to the report.
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BUSINESS
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KEEP IN TOUCH
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