Laguna Beach City Council to interview, appoint residents to city boards and committees

The Laguna Beach City Council will conduct interviews of residents and make appointments to various city boards and committees in its upcoming meeting on Tuesday.

Approximately 80 residents have submitted applications, with the environmental sustainability committee drawing the most interest with 17 applicants for five open seats on the nine-person panel.

“They’re so important to the overall operation of the city and our city government,” Mayor Bob Whalen said in an appearance Thursday on the Mornings with Ed Show on KX FM 104.7. “They do a whole lot of vetting and analysis that then comes up to the council in terms of recommendations, or on the planning commission and design review board, in terms of decisions that we’re asked to either confirm or modify or reject. It’s critical. I’m so thrilled that so many people have applied.”

There are three openings for two-year terms on the audit review and investment advisory committee, the view restoration committee, the heritage committee, the parking, traffic and circulation committee, and the design review board. Additionally, four appointments will be made for the recreation committee and the housing and human services committee.

“It covers a broad subject matter area,” said Whalen, who spent four years on the planning commission before being elected to the council in 2012. “You can’t believe when we look at these résumés how many subject matter experts, and I mean experts, are in our community.”

The council is also expected to adopt a proclamation declaring February to be Black History Month in Laguna Beach at Tuesday’s meeting.

One of the clauses in the prepared proclamation reads, “The city of Laguna Beach recognizes the importance of promoting diversity, inclusion and understanding and wishes to celebrate the contributions of Black Americans to our community, the state, and the nation.”

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