Laguna council to consider buying local library property

The Laguna Beach City Council is interested in more than books — it just might check out the entire library.

During their meeting Tuesday, council members will discuss whether to move ahead with purchasing the Laguna Beach Library property at Laguna Avenue and Glenneyre Street from Orange County, which owns and operates the facility.

Under a 1970 agreement, Laguna Beach deeded a city-owned parcel and abandoned a portion of nearby Park Avenue to provide additional space for a new library building.

The county then purchased another lot from a private property owner to round out the library site, according to a staff report.

As part of that agreement, Laguna Beach retained the option to purchase the property at any time within the next 50 years — a window that closes Jan. 20. The existing library branch is roughly 10,000 square feet, some of which is used as office space by the Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce and the Friends of the Laguna Beach Library.

The overall library site is comprised of four parcels, but since the county did not have to purchase three of them, the city only would have to pay for the one that the county bought from the private owner.

The cost of that parcel would be established following an appraisal to determine its fair market value. Should the council move forward, the city also would earmark approximately $20,000 for due diligence efforts, such as commissioning environmental and structural assessment reports.

Also up for council review Tuesday is a month-to-month lease agreement for the office space currently used by the chamber. As proposed, the city would lease that space for $1,484 a month and, in turn, sublease it back to the chamber.

Tuesday’s council meeting starts at 5 p.m. in City Hall, 505 Forest Ave.

RHNA resolution

Also up for discussion Tuesday is a proposed resolution opposing the methodology the Southern California Assn. of Governments used to determine the city’s Regional Housing Needs Assessment allocation.

RHNA is a representation of future housing needs, and state law requires cities and counties to identify sufficient sites and zones to meet their allocations.

In November, Laguna Beach was told it would have to set aside enough land for 390 homes, a far cry from the initial target of 55 that was outlined in August. SCAG — which represents Orange and five other counties — modified Laguna’s number as part of an overall push for more housing in coastal rather than inland communities.

The proposed council resolution opposes SCAG’s modified methodology — citing “lack of specificity, supporting documentation, lack of vetting by SCAG staff and near total absence of stakeholder engagement” — and asks for the state Department of Housing and Community Development to intervene.

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