By Jackie Connor, Special to the Independent
Laguna Beach City Council voted unanimously to explore options for building a new 25-meter community swimming pool as an alternative to pursuing joint use of Laguna Beach Unified School District’s (LBUSD) planned expansion of a 50-meter pool at Laguna Beach High School, with the option to pursue both.
This comes after LBUSD announced they would spend $150 million to expand Laguna Beach High School’s facilities, despite decreasing student enrollment.
Mayor Sue Kempf and councilmember Bob Whalen, appointed as the subcommittee in October 2023, shared that after extensive discussions with LBUSD, Sensible Laguna community members and city staff, Kempf and Whalen asked the community to weigh in on three options presented by staff: jointly use and help fund the $19 million 50-meter pool with LBUSD, and contribute upwards of $13 million toward the pool’s remodeling project; build a separate 25-meter community pool at an undetermined location costing up to $13.3 million, which includes infrastructure and staff, or pursue a combination of both options.
Mayor Kempf shared that the subcommittee aimed to make sure LBUSD considered the city’s in reference to various aquatics programs, such as lap swim and accessibility for young children, in addition to how much more the city would be able to provide the community given a larger pool, but LBUSD did not make any concessions with the city and have moved forward with this project regardless of city needs.
“They said, ‘No, they voted on a 50-meter pool. They plan to build a 50-meter pool.’ It’s also very clear that not only are they going to build a 50-meter pool, they are going to pay for it themselves,” said Kempf. “…They are happy to have our contribution, but just to be clear, they are going to build their own pool, and they are going to pay for it themselves if we choose not to contribute.”
Despite the city staff’s informal survey results showing a relatively even split between community preferences, the majority of public commentary was opposed to working alongside LBUSD, with concerns focused on the city’s ability to impact the expansion project.
“We are behind the times with this aged pool and the use of running multiple programs at the same time,” said resident Leilani Fitzgerald. “This pool means so much to the young …and older families in the community. I would love to be able to swim while my kids are practicing, but there is room for water polo, swim team and lap swim at the same time.”
Between October 2023 and March 2024, approximately 45 residents wrote to the city council, with a majority opposing the expansion of the 50-meter pool, expressing concerns about accessibility for children and the aging population as LBUSD’s pool expansion would not include shallow lanes or options for a children’s pool or splash pad.
“That $90 million does nothing to educate our children whose math scores have dropped down to 50% of all high school students are meeting math standards, which is a far cry from when you were there when we were 58%, which still is not ideal…” said resident Sheri Morgan. “So none of these new dollars that they’re using for this pool has anything to do with our education of our students. As a city council, please think of the big picture and serve our elderly community and our youngest, but don’t let the superintendent decide the future of this town.”
As the city navigates alternatives, including crucial consideration for capital and operating costs and the impact on the existing aquatics program, the issue remains open for discussion, with deliberations expected in the coming weeks.
 planned expansion of a 50-meter pool at Laguna Beach High School, with the option to pursue both. ){kind=link}