Laguna Beach mayor urges regional collaboration on crowding as Coastal Commission orders Hotel Laguna signs removed

Mayor Alex Runagi of Laguna Beach said the city must distinguish between overnight visitors and “day trippers,” work with other coastal cities to manage capacity during busy periods and public-safety threats, and oppose efforts to privatize beach access. Runagi said the California Coastal Commission has sent an enforcement letter requiring Hotel Laguna to remove signs restricting public entry by Friday.

Runagi, speaking in a radio interview with host Tom Johnson, said Visit Laguna Beach focuses on attracting overnight hotel guests, which helps raise transient occupancy tax revenue that funds local infrastructure. “When our hotels have high occupancy, that means we get more transit occupancy tax, which means that’s — and that’s the best kind of tax because residents of Laguna Beach just don’t have to pay it,” Runagi said. He contrasted that with day trippers, whom he described as…