Laguna Beach panel OKs revised South Laguna fire defense, kicks Moss Street Beach upgrades 

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Natures Image landscapers Richard Aguirre (right) and Alberto Vargas trim invasive plants in August 2019 in Oro Canyon. Photo by Daniel Langhorne

By Megan Miller, Special to the Independent

The Laguna Beach Planning Commission mulled several public infrastructure projects Wednesday, including new fire breaks in South Laguna and upgrades to Moss Street Beach.

Both projects have been in the pipeline for weeks. Commissioners voted unanimously to send the revised wildfire defense and habitat preservation plan to the City Council for approval. Discussion on beach access improvements at the cove has been pushed to early May due to concern over the construction of a proposed permanent lifeguard tower at the site.

This is the second continuance requested for the Moss Cove upgrades.

The City already has similar permanent lifeguard decks in other beaches, all of which are in accordance with California Coastal Commission regulations, Senior Planner Anthony Viera said.

Some opponents fear the addition of the lifeguard tower would disrupt the cove’s natural, untouched charm and also purport that the permanent fixture is unnecessary, considering the City’s plans to staff the tower only during the peak summer season.

In addition to the permanent tower, the planned upgrades would also see the rehabilitation of the existing concrete view deck and staircase. The current steps have a considerable gap between the bottom riser and level of the sand. Temporary wooden steps have been installed to mitigate safety hazards to visitors.

The Public Works Department requested the discussion be moved to hear concerns and to allow time for staffers to finalize the staff report to reflect recent discussions with the residents, Viera said.

The issue is expected to be revisited at the May 4 meeting.

Following unanimous commissioner support, the fuel modification program will be sent to the City Council. If approved, the City will restore half an acre of habitat off Driftwood Drive for every acre treated by vegetation management in high-value areas, in an effort to offset potential ecological disturbances caused by fire breaks.

“There’s always a balance between the environment and fire mitigation especially in our topography, and I think this [program] accomplished that in a really great way,” Commissioner Jorg Dubin said.

The fire breaks were first approved unanimously by the Planning Commission Dec. 1. In February, the City reached an agreement with the Coastal Commission to include local monitoring and protections for habitat loss.

The revised program reemerged on the agenda Wednesday with the agreed upon terms.

Laguna Beach received a $1 million grant from the state in May 2020 to fund the project, said Mike Rohde, wildland fire defense and fuels manager at the Laguna Beach Fire Department.

“Coastal maritime chaparral is one of the rarest habitats in California, if not the world,” Rohde said. “It’s also wildly biodiverse.”

Dubin asked if the City’s fire mitigation efforts included an ongoing maintenance program for areas that regrew after being cut back.

The City has contracted up to three maintenance visits per year for fuel modification zones, adding that the first round of spring clearance has been agendized for authorization by the City Council to be carried out in late May or June.

“Laguna has faced a history of natural disasters of all sorts,” Commissioner Ken Sadler said. “Flooding, landslides, mudslides, earthquakes – but nothing, in my opinion, comes anywhere close to the probability of a wildfire disaster, and we have to do everything we can to try to prevent it and mitigate it in any way we can.”

The revised program will be sent to the City Council for approval.

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1 COMMENT

  1. Concerning Moss Point and a permanent Coastal Commission approved lifeguard tower(which is guarded only during summer months…), this historic, quaint, small, slice of heaven at the end of Moss should NOT have fiberglass/metal/plastic lifeguard tower! Would you put such a structure within the bounds of the Ark on Moss and Ocean or the historic Colonel Edward home at the edge of the south rocks of Moss Beach?

    Let Laguna Beach have a few remaining beautiful and undisturbed( at least on the sand) coves and beaches. During high tides the unguarded lifeguard tower would be a hazard to those on the sand or in the water…..and ugly to view. Digging a huge hole, pouring concrete and building such a perch surely has a negative effect on the tides and shifting sands as well as being unnecessary.

    What’s next? Poured concrete steps thru the keyhole on the south rocks…????? YIKES.

    By all means renovate the stairs(didn’t a car crash into the retaining wall last year???) and create a more equitable entrance/exit for more than one person on the steps at a time, conceal the city trash bins to avoid visual blight, and send the steps ALL the way down the shore but PLEASE-no permanent lifeguard behemoth on Moss Point!!!!

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