Laguna Beach staff seek Coastal Commission OK for five-year parking plan; residents press for neighborhood permits and tougher enforcement

City of Laguna Beach staff on Wednesday presented a proposed five-year Coastal Development Permit (CDP) that would extend the city's parking-rate framework and give the city authority to pursue paid parking on parts of Coast Highway in South Laguna, staff said. The proposal will go to the City Council for general direction at a special meeting Sept. 23, and — if the council supports parking changes — staff said the Planning Commission would issue the CDP and the city would apply to Caltrans for an encroachment permit for paid parking spaces on state right-of-way.

The CDP proposal would continue a policy first approved in 2021 that allows a 10% annual summer rate increase for downtown parking meters and a $1 per-meter increase in off-season rates across the five-year period. Staff said shoppers permits would remain valid in newly designated paid spaces during posted hours.

Why it matters: The plan would reshape where and how people pay to park in parts of Laguna Beach that are almost entirely within the coastal zone, moving the debate from technical rate-setting to questions of neighborhood access, emergency access and environmental impacts. The Coastal Commission and Caltrans both have roles that could limit or modify what the city can do, residents and staff noted.

Staff presentation and city options City Manager Dave Kiff and Alexis Braun, the city's community and transit leader, told more…