Laguna Beach to create bluff overlay district, providing guidelines for development along coast

Laguna Beach plans to make changes to its zoning code that will create a bluff overlay district, providing guidance for those considering development on oceanfront lots.

The Laguna Beach City Council voted 4-1 at its March 7 meeting to advance an ordinance concerning oceanfront development and major remodels to a second reading.

If determined to be in an area with a low rate of coastal erosion, a property could be added to the bluff overlay district, according to the ordinance. It could then receive a site-specific blufftop setback or encroachment.

“With this ordinance, property owners may request that their property be added to the bluff overlay district only if it is determined that the property is subject to a stable rate of erosion, which the ordinance defines as an erosion rate of less than 0.2 feet per year,” Anthony Viera, a senior planner for the city, said. “Lots that are subject to greater erosion would continue to be subject to the [already existing] 25-foot blufftop setback requirement. This greater erosion category would also include sites that are subject to adverse geology, such as prone to landsliding.”

Consideration of a property’s eligibility for the bluff overlay district also depends on its consistency with the historic pattern of development, potential for geologic hazard and protection of coastal resources.

“We think [the ordinance] achieves a balance between a property owner’s right to maintain and improve their property, but also between the policies of the Coastal Act,” Director of Community Development Marc Wiener said. “We want this to be a model program for other coastal cities in the state. … [The Coastal Commission is] certainly very interested in this program because they know it can be a program that other cities may choose to go with and may be a path forward.”

Homes along the oceanfront blufftops at Aliso Beach in South Laguna on Wednesday.

(Don Leach / Staff Photographer)

The new regulations represent an attempt by city staff to be fair to property owners while working within the confines of the Coastal Act, which city staffers believe will lead to fewer substantial issue findings on projects appealed to the Coastal Commission.

A study prepared by geotechnical engineering firm ENGEO showed that the vast majority of Laguna Beach’s seven-mile coastline consists of erosion-resistant bluffs.

Oceanfront property owners who request to be included in the bluff overlay district will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

A proposed amendment to the municipal code also sets thresholds for a project to be classified as a major remodel. On oceanfront property, demolition or reinforcement of at least 50% of the linear feet of the exterior walls or the foundation will trigger designation as a major remodel. The tear down or reinforcement of at least half of the combined total linear feet of the exterior walls and the square footage of the foundation and the structural roof components will also signal a major remodel, as will exceeding a 50% expansion of the property.

Viera explained that cumulative additions to a property would track from 1993, the date that the city had its local coastal program certified by the Coastal Commission. The one exception to this is for sites that are supported by shoreline protection devices, which would instead use the 1977 Coastal Act date.

“For non-oceanfront properties, we have different standards. Major remodel would be met if a project proposed to demolish 50% or more of the exterior walls, and [for] additions that result in a more than 50% addition to the existing structure, with an exception that single-family homes can expand to a total gross floor area of 1,500 square feet.”

The council will be asked to adopt a local coastal program amendment during the second reading of the ordinance. It will then be sent to the Coastal Commission for certification.

Mayor Pro Tem Sue Kempf said it has been approximately a three-year process to provide clarity to property owners about what they are able to build along the coast.

“We want to make it clear for the homeowners, the property owners, and we also want to have as little discrepancy [as possible] between what Coastal Commission thinks and the way we make our determinations,” Kempf said. “We’re just trying to clean it up a little bit, even though it’s a difficult situation.

“Our whole city is in the coastal zone. Most of the cities are not. We have a little bit more challenging time there with that because of the fact that we have our whole city in the coastal zone, but mainly, the primary issue is what can we allow and what can’t we allow.”

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