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Council upholds Hotel Joaquin garage conversion but adds restrictions to conceal storage
Summary
After neighbors appealed an administrative approval to convert three existing garages into partially covered carports with behind‑door storage, the city council sustained the approval but added conditions that all storage be concealed and garage doors remain closed when no vehicle occupies a space.
Laguna Beach City Council resolved an appeal on June 24 of an administrative design review that would convert three existing hotel garages at Hotel Joaquin (985 N. Coast Highway) into partially covered carports and build enclosed storage behind sliding barn doors.
An adjacent property owner appealed the director’s designee approval on the grounds that the change would create visual impacts, would not meet city definitions of carport, and should have received a higher discretionary review. Appellant Loretta Lewis told the council the change would expose storage and increase deliveries and activity on Fairview Street.
Planning staff told the council the hotel is a split‑zoned parcel, with the building’s garage area in the commercial zone; staff also said covered parking is not legally required for the hotel use. Staff recommended the council deny the appeal and find the project exempt from CEQA, concluding the change was a minor modification to previously approved plans and did not materially worsen existing nonconforming parking conditions.
During public comment several neighbors described noise and safety concerns, and displayed photos of the alley and the hotel’s current garage area. The hotel’s ownership said the proposed storage would be concealed behind full‑height interior walls and sliding doors and that they use the alley side for existing storage; the applicant offered to accept a council condition restricting visible storage and requiring doors be closed when a space is not occupied.
The council approved the director’s designee action but added two more restrictive conditions: (1) all storage created by this project must be fully concealed behind the enclosed storage walls and sliding doors so that no storage is visible from public rights‑of‑way, and (2) the garage openings on Fairview shall be kept closed except when a vehicle is parked in the space. Councilmembers said the added conditions preserve the applicant’s operational needs while addressing neighbors’ concerns about visual clutter and late‑night activity.
The council’s decision was taken under the administrative design‑review standard; because fewer than four affirmative votes had been required at the prior decision level, the council conducted a de novo hearing but limited the review to grounds raised in the appeal. The council asked staff to monitor compliance and directed the applicant to work with planning and code enforcement on any follow‑up.
