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Laguna Beach mayor: Fire Station 1 seismically insecure; council considering relocation and station upgrades
Summary
Mayor Alex Unagi said Fire Station 1, adjacent to City Hall, is seismically unsafe and likely cannot remain in its current location. The city’s facilities master plan prioritizes creating or refurbishing four functioning stations and assessing options, possibly within five years.
Mayor Alex Unagi said the city’s facilities master plan identifies Fire Station 1, next to City Hall, as seismically insecure and too small for current needs. “Right now, it's seismically insecure, and it is also just not the right size that you need for a fire station,” Unagi said during a radio interview.
Unagi said council members agreed there is “really no way that we could keep that in the same location that that it currently is.” Options under consideration include relocating the station to the parking lot adjacent to City Hall or exploring other sites that would improve the city’s standards of cover and response times.
The facilities master plan also addresses renovations to Fire Stations 2 and 3 and the planned Fire Station 4 in South Laguna. The mayor said the city hopes “shovels will be in the ground this year” for Station 4, and that achieving “four functioning fire station[s] in town” is a top priority to ensure response capability during an earthquake or other major incident.
Unagi discussed broader facility needs as well, including the Lincoln Beach Community and Recreation Center (referred to in the interview as St. Catharines) and Lane Park. He said the city is weighing options such as ground leases or joint development to generate revenue to pay for major facility improvements, while stressing the city must be realistic about funding availability.
The mayor encouraged public engagement on the facilities master plan and said staff will provide additional analysis on options, costs and siting before the council selects a path forward.
