Board requires spa setback after neighbor objections to long-running Monterey Street expansion

After multiple prior reviews and neighbor objections, the Laguna Beach Design Review Board approved a revised scope at 31131 Monterey Street on Dec. 11, 2025, placing a site‑specific setback condition on the property’s proposed spa.

Staff described the application as a limited set of improvements concentrated at the rear of the house — a relocated spa, an expanded elevated deck and a trash enclosure designed to remove visible cans from neighbors' sight lines — and recommended approval with CEQA categorical exemptions. Neighbors testified that the property owner has repeatedly brought expansion schemes to the board and that earlier staking errors and past approvals had produced fatigue and skepticism in the neighborhood. One neighbor summarized: "I was tired of going through all these expansion ambitions for this house." (public comment).

Applicant representatives said they had removed previously approved elevated terrace elements and had performed a bluff‑edge determination showing the site to be beyond 360 feet from the bluff. After board members discussed view impacts and public comment, the board adopted the staff resolutions approving design review and coastal development permits with a specific condition: the spa must be pulled back two feet toward the setback line (board motion carried 3‑1, with one member opposed).

The applicant indicated willingness to adjust the spa location on the record; staff will verify the final spa placement before issuing building permits.

What’s next: Revised plans with the spa pulled back 2 feet must be filed and reviewed by staff before final permit issuance.