Laguna Beach planning commission continues review of 1040 South Coast Highway mixed‑use proposal to July 16

The Laguna Beach Planning Commission on July 2 continued its review of a design review and coastal development permit for a remodel and second‑floor addition at 1040 South Coast Highway to the July 16, 2025 meeting to allow limited plan revisions, restaking of story poles and staff review.

Senior Planner Shavita Sharma told the commission the project proposes a remodel of a 1‑story, 2,308‑square‑foot commercial building constructed in 1949 with a vacant ground‑floor commercial space and an upper‑level addition of roughly 2,387 square feet containing four one‑bedroom residential units. Ground floor improvements would include a remodel of the commercial tenant space, parking lot reconfiguration, four bicycle lockers, landscaping and trash storage. The project is in the C‑1 local business district. Sharma said the city’s Ordinance 17‑12 (infill provisions) and recent Coastal Commission certification allow the mixed‑use project to use commercial setbacks and parking rules that reduce residential setbacks and permit half‑space parking rules for units under 700 square feet located within a quarter‑mile of transit.

Staff said the…