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Laguna Beach planning commission approves Piatti restaurant sign permit
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Summary
The planning commission unanimously approved a sign permit for Piatti at 222 Ocean Avenue, allowing a non‑illuminated wall sign and a small illuminated blade sign after staff and the city architectural historian recommended letter‑height adjustments. The action was found exempt from CEQA.
The Laguna Beach Planning Commission voted unanimously Aug. 20 to adopt a resolution approving a sign permit for the Piatti restaurant at 222 Ocean Avenue.
Staff presented the application as a request for one non‑illuminated wall sign and one illuminated blade sign on a property listed on the city’s local historic register. "The proposed wall sign will be approximately 7 and a half square feet with letter heights of 17 inches," planning staff told the commission, and the blade sign would be 1.9 square feet with 5½‑inch letters, powered by solar panels with 3,000 Kelvin LED bulbs.
Staff said the city architectural historian advised reducing the wall‑sign letter height to better match the building’s previous signage and that the reduced lettering is reflected in the plans. "Overall, staff finds that the proposed signs meet the requirements of the municipal code and design standards of the downtown specific plan and recommends ... approving the sign permit and find said action exempt from CEQA," the staff presenter said.
Commissioners asked technical questions about the blade sign’s construction and the proposed solar lighting. A sign contractor confirmed the blade sign would be hollow rather than one‑inch solid aluminum, and staff suggested the commission could make running electrical (instead of solar panels) a condition of approval if the commission preferred powered lighting for aesthetic reasons.
A motion to adopt the resolution approving sign permit 25‑1575 and finding the action exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act passed on a roll‑call vote: Commissioner Sadler, yes; Commissioner Whiting, yes; Commissioner Dubin, yes; Chair Pro Tem Goldman, yes; Chair Kellenberg, yes.
The permit allows Piatti to install the two signs as revised in the plans presented to the commission; staff noted the applicant had incorporated the architectural historian’s recommendation on letter height. The commission did not add other conditions at the hearing.
