Laguna Beach council and school board direct staff to finalize pool MOU as renovation advances

Laguna Beach City Council and the Laguna Beach School District on Tuesday directed staff to finish a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that will govern community and student access to the district’s rebuilt aquatics facility.

The joint meeting, held as an annual city/district session, produced a motion asking city and district staff to work together on the MOU and for city staff to review other existing joint-use agreements. Councilmembers and board members approved the direction by voice vote.

The MOU is intended to formalize times and responsibilities so “all of our city residents that are outside of our school still, get access to our pool,” said Jeff Dixon, district staff, describing the intent to align city recreation programs with district aquatics programming.

Why it matters: the pool sits on district property used by the broader community; the MOU is meant to protect student program needs while ensuring community access and clarifying cost-sharing and scheduling.

Project details and timeline - Construction is targeted to begin in March 2026, with the district estimating about 11 months of construction and a completion roughly February 2027, subject to weather and other delays. District staff said approval by the State Architect and a competitive bid/award process remain steps before breaking ground. - The redesign reduced the pool from 50 meters to 45 meters and added space described by staff as a separate community building on the northeast side of the project footprint. That building will include an indoor shower and additional locker-room space intended for community users. - To provide shallow-water space for young children and lessons, staff discussed portable platform systems that can temporarily create a shallower pool depth. “There are platforms that you can go and and you can make whatever portion of the pool as shallow as you want,” Dixon said, describing a portable option for summers or special programming.

Board and council members pressed staff on details. Councilmember Bob (last name not specified in the record) asked whether changes to the pool footprint had improved public locker-room access; district staff said the design now includes a community room with indoor shower and additional locker-room space. Board members raised safety and code questions about gradual depth transitions; district staff said the State Architect will review related code compliance.

Motion and next steps - Motion: Direct staff to finalize a pool MOU between the city and the district and return for approval; city staff were also asked to review other existing MOUs/joint-use agreements for possible updates. - Outcome: Approved by voice vote/consensus; exact roll-call tallies were not specified on the record. - Implementation steps described: staff will prepare the MOU, seek authority to advertise the construction bid, return for bid approval (anticipated in winter months), then award and begin construction. Staff noted potential schedule impacts from wild-fire-related work stoppages on red-flag days.

Community concerns and context Public speakers and board members asked that the facility work for families with young children, balance neighborhood concerns and not degrade views. Board members and the city emphasized collaboration: the MOU aims to protect student needs for athletics and physical education while maximizing community use.

The council and the board did not vote on construction contracts during the joint session. Staff said they will return with draft MOU language and the procurement/bid timeline for consideration.

Ending Officials said they will return with the draft MOU and procurement milestones; no construction contract was awarded during the meeting. The city and district managers signaled continued collaboration to finalize public-access rules and ensure the pool serves both students and residents.