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Laguna Beach council approves $500,000 lease amendment to secure nonprofit weeks at Playhouse
Summary
The City Council approved a $500,000 one‑time payment to the Laguna Playhouse to guarantee 10 weeks per year for local nonprofits through 2040, after weeks of public discussion over ticketing fees, concessions and calendar access.
The Laguna Beach City Council voted to authorize a First Amendment to the Laguna Playhouse lease and to appropriate $500,000 in two installments to guarantee community access to the theater for the next 14 years. The agreement reserves 10 weeks per fiscal year for Laguna‑based nonprofits and arts organizations and caps a ticketing surcharge at $3, subject to future city manager approval for increases.
The council and nonprofit stakeholders debated how the reserved weeks will be allocated and how concessions and ticketing fees affect small organizations' ability to earn revenue. Billy Fried, representing several nonprofits, said the proposed ticketing and credit‑card fees could undercut nonprofits’ event revenue and urged clearer allocation rules and a transparent booking process. "We have to make sure this lease is granular enough that there's no misconceptions going forward about how that time and space is going to be allocated," Fried said.
Playhouse manager Adele Adkins described how concessions would be handled: the Playhouse would staff bars and deduct costs (alcohol, staffing) before remitting net proceeds to a nonprofit when the Playhouse operates concessions for that group's event. If a nonprofit buys the alcohol (supported by the Playhouse's purchasing), the Playhouse will operate the bar under its license and remit net profits to the renter. Adkins said the Playhouse is adopting a new ticketing system with a target date in April.
The lease sets the nonprofit rate at $2,800 per active performance day and requires the Playhouse to release a preliminary calendar of available community weeks by July 15 each year for the subsequent fiscal year. The Playhouse must report annually on use of those weeks so the council can evaluate whether the arrangement is meeting community goals.
Council members negotiated language to ensure clear allocation if nonprofit demand exceeds the 10 guaranteed weeks: the city manager and Playhouse management will confer and devise an equitable method for reallocation and to report back annually. The council approved the amendment by voice vote.
The annual check‑in and city manager oversight were central to the council’s decision to move forward. The amendment also allows the Playhouse to seek modest CPI‑based increases to the ticketing surcharge with city manager review and documentation.
Outcome: Council approved the First Amendment, authorized the payments and added a requirement for annual reporting on nonprofit access and calendar release.
