Laguna Beach school board adopts mitigated negative declaration for LBHS pool modernization, 5-0

The Laguna Beach Unified School District Board of Education on March 20 adopted an Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (ISMND) and associated mitigation monitoring and reporting program for the Laguna Beach High School pool modernization project, voting 5–0 to direct staff to file a Notice of Determination and continue preparing construction plans with the agreed mitigation measures.

The decision followed a technical presentation by environmental consultant Ultra Systems and a public hearing that drew students, neighbors and civic groups. Ultra Systems’ air-and-noise lead, Dr. Michael Rogerson, said field measurements showed water‑polo events produced about an 11‑decibel increase over regular swimming sessions — a difference the team described as a near tenfold change on a logarithmic scale — but that modeled average community noise levels would remain below thresholds identified in the ISMND once mitigation measures are implemented. "During the water polo measurements the pool area noise was around 11 decibels higher," Rogerson said, adding the study modeled attenuation with distance and proposed shielding and other measures to reduce community exposure.

Students and community…