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Laguna Beach mayor: zoning, parking and permit delays slow downtown openings; council moving to streamline process
Summary
Mayor Alex Unagi told the Fair Game Laguna podcast that downtown vacancies reflect a regulatory process that is slowing new businesses. The city is editing its zoning code, revising parking rules and reducing reliance on conditional use permits to speed openings, and staff now reports application timelines monthly.
Mayor Alex Unagi said Laguna Beach’s downtown vacancies are driven in part by a slow, unpredictable permitting and zoning process and that the city is working to speed approvals to attract small businesses.
Unagi, speaking on the Fair Game Laguna podcast, said the council is revising the city’s zoning code, revising parking requirements and shifting some uses to “by right” approvals so fewer new businesses must go through the conditional use permit process. “What we're doing is we're streamlining our zoning code. We're making it easier to comply with the parking requirements, but then also looking at ways to make more uses by right over the counter, as opposed to through our...CUP process,” Unagi said.
Why it matters: downtown vacancies reduce foot…
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