Laguna Beach residents press council on 340 Saint Anne’s project and Neighborhood Congregational Church plans as item 14 pulled

The Laguna Beach City Council removed agenda item 14 from tonight’s meeting and heard a long public comment period focused on two separate but related housing proposals in town.

Speakers at the microphone urged greater review of plans for a proposed project at 340 Saint Anne’s Drive and pressed the Neighborhood Congregational Church (NCC) project to preserve existing historic church buildings while allowing affordable housing development.

Supporters and opponents offered conflicting views about how much work is needed before the council or staff take action. Several residents asked the city to require a full on‑site staking (survey layout) for the 340 Saint Anne’s proposal so neighbors can understand exact massing and roofline changes, rather than a perimeter stake or drone imagery. Bruce Dwyer, who said he has lived on St. Anne’s Drive for 38 years, told council that “when a project with a footprint of two hotel lagunas arrives in the neighborhood, a full vetting should be mandatory,” and asked for third‑party staking before any city funds or zoning exceptions are granted.

Similarly, dozens of residents and church members addressed a separate proposal by Neighborhood Congregational Church (NCC) to build affordable housing on its property and to replace some existing facilities with a new spiritual center. Many public speakers, including Village Laguna and longtime congregants, warned that the project as conceived would remove buildings identified by local preservation advocates as historic. Anne Kane and others argued for adaptive reuse that would keep the sanctuary and fellowship halls while still adding housing; Kathy Yerka and other speakers pointed to preservation‑oriented alternatives that they said could yield 36 units in two‑story buildings without demolition.

Susan Cross, president of the Neighborhood Congregational Church board, responded at the podium, saying the congregation had pursued a multi‑year process and that the church’s buildings were increasingly expensive to maintain. Cross told council, “We are very much trying to preserve parts of them that can make their memory live on. But memories don’t pay the bills,” and said the church board had voted unanimously to proceed with the current development path and would not request public funds for the proposed spiritual center portion of the plan.

Other speakers spoke in favor of adding affordable housing in town, saying local workers need housing near their jobs; Julia Cox Krueger described friends paying more than $2,200 for studios and urged council to “work collaboratively with those who are helping to make more affordable housing possible.”

Council action and next steps

Before public comment the city manager announced that agenda item 14 (the item involving the Urban Community Land Trust) would be pulled and not heard tonight; the council did not take action on it. Several speakers asked the council to require further technical work (staking, hydrology and design alternatives) before the city considers funding, zoning exceptions or approvals.

Why this matters

The two projects discussed touch on competing priorities in Laguna Beach: the shortage of workforce and affordable units, and the community’s long record of preserving distinctive historic and architectural resources. Council members and staff will weigh technical site controls (staking, slope and hydrology analyses), design alternatives that could retain historic fabric, and whether any city funding requests should be evaluated against broader affordable‑housing needs.

What’s next

Item 14 was formally pulled from tonight’s agenda and will be returned only after staff or applicants provide additional materials. Residents and proponents should watch future agendas and the city project pages for rescheduling and for any posted supplemental materials that the council will use to consider the proposals.