Laguna Beach council clears procedural steps for West Street undergrounding, sets public hearing

Laguna Beach City Council voted May 20 to begin the ballot process for the West Street Utility Undergrounding Assessment District, preliminarily approving the engineer’s report, setting a public hearing and balloting date and directing staff to cast the city-owned ballots in favor.

Council’s action starts the formal Proposition 218 balloting phase; the district is not formed unless a majority of weighted ballots supports the assessment at the public hearing scheduled for Sept. 23, 2025. The council also acknowledged an intended city contribution of roughly $1.4 million toward the district’s general-benefit share if the district is approved and bonds are issued.

City staff and the assessment engineer said the district’s total construction and incidental cost is estimated at about $7.0 million. After the city’s contribution and estimated bond-financing costs, the report shows roughly $6.4 million would be assessed across 101 parcels, with individual assessments ranging from about $24,000 to $111,000 (average about $60,000). The South Coast Water District parcel is an outlier because of its unusually large lot size and receives a substantially higher assessment than most parcels.

Why it matters: the council framed the work as an infrastructure and fire-safety investment. Supporters who addressed the council said undergrounding reduces ignition risk from overhead equipment, improves emergency access and helps preserve property values. Opponents questioned the fairness of the assessment methodology and the distribution of costs across parcels, asked for view-related adjustments to the engineer’s methodology and raised concerns about late changes to assessment amounts and outreach.

What the council approved tonight - Preliminary adoption of the engineer’s report and the resolution of intention to proceed to the ballot phase. Staff will mail ballots to property owners and hold an informational public meeting in July; the public hearing and formal ballot tally is scheduled for Sept. 23, 2025. - Acknowledgement of the city’s intention to contribute approximately $1,400,000 toward the district’s general-benefit share, contingent on district approval and prior to bond issuance. - Direction to the city manager to cast ballots on behalf of three city-owned parcels in the district and to cast those city ballots in favor of the assessments. - Direction to staff to analyze bond-purchase options and report back, including possible city purchase, interest-rate implications and proposed loan terms.

Engineer and staff presentation: Pierre Sawaya, Capital Program Manager, presented maps and the engineer’s cost breakdown. NV5 assessment engineer Jeff Cooper said his method treated safety, reliability and aesthetic benefit as equal components and avoided a separate ocean-view surcharge, saying view surcharges have been “extremely subjective” in past reports and would be difficult to defend under Proposition 218.

Public comments: More than two dozen property owners and neighbors spoke during the public hearing on the project. Supporters — including Justin Boschnak (31538 West Street), Paul Noring and others who live within the district — emphasized safety, wildfire risk and insurance concerns. Opponents, including residents of Monterey Street and nearby blocks, said the petition and assessment modeling changed since signatures were collected; they asked the council to halt the project, add a view-adjustment methodology, or re-run outreach to ensure residents fully understood final cost estimates.

Procedure and next steps: Staff will finalize mailing of ballot packets and return information and hold a district-wide public meeting in July 2025 to answer questions and present any late clarifications. If a weighted majority of returned ballots supports the assessment at the Sept. 23 hearing, the council may order formation and proceed with bond issuance and construction procurement. If the ballots fail, the district will not form.

Votes at a glance (formal actions taken May 20) - Continue to ballot phase and preliminarily adopt engineer’s report (resolution of intention and resolution preliminarily adopting the engineer’s report): Approved (motion and second; unanimous vote). - Acknowledge city intent to contribute ~$1.4 million toward general benefit if district approved and prior to bonds sold: Approved (unanimous). - Direct city manager to cast ballots for city-owned parcels and cast them in favor: Approved (unanimous). - Direct staff to return with bond-purchase options and pricing for council consideration in July: Direction given.

What council members said: Council members who remained for the hearing said they wanted the neighborhood’s decision to be resolved by ballot and stressed additional briefings and cost transparency. Council members also noted the city had previously contributed 20% to other undergrounding districts and that further policy decisions about the level of city subsidy could set precedents for future districts.

Community context: The district proposal links to the city’s wildfire mitigation priorities and is one of several neighborhoods identified in the city’s wildfire mitigation and safety plan for eventual undergrounding. Staff suggested a loan-deferment program for qualifying homeowners (age, income, assets) that would allow the city to pay assessments until a triggering event such as sale or transfer.

Evidence from the meeting transcript: Topic introduced by Pierre Sawaya’s presentation on the West Street district and closed when council adopted the resolutions of intention and preliminary engineer’s report and provided ballot-direction to staff at the May 20 meeting. The council set a public hearing and ballot tally for Sept. 23, 2025.

Ending: Ballots and the September public hearing will determine whether West Street property owners move forward with undergrounding. If approved, the district would move to financing and construction phases in the months after bonding is completed.