City Council Regular Meeting - November 10, 2026

The Laguna Beach City Council regular meeting on November 10, 2026, addressed several spending and procurement matters. The Council unanimously ratified an emergency agreement, not to exceed $242,300, for temporary winterization work at the Skyline slope failure site. It also unanimously approved a policy authorizing the city manager to award emergency work contracts of up to $500,000 when disaster-relief funding is available, with prompt communication to Council and a report at the next regular meeting. The Council approved transferring approximately $671,000 in older construction-and-demolition deposit balances to the city’s solid-waste fund, while directing staff to contact possible depositors, improve the process, and review other jurisdictions’ practices. A previously authorized Crossbeam AI pilot for permit screening and plan checks was reported to be reducing application response times; staff is testing a chatbot, with public rollout anticipated after internal testing.

The Council also approved a resolution supporting Laguna College of Art and Design’s proposed tax-exempt bond issuance of up to $30 million through the California Enterprise Development Authority. The bonds are the college’s obligation—not the city’s—and would refinance existing debt and fund campus improvements, including a 20,000-square-foot innovation center; the city reported no fiscal impact. The monthly investment report was continued for correction after a $2.1 million accounting adjustment was identified. The quarterly financial report prompted discussion of cash-flow reporting, capital-improvement budgeting, and transient-occupancy-tax audits. Two Mills Act contracts were approved with execution deferred until after consideration of program revisions in December; they are projected to reduce city general-fund revenue by about $6,104. Consent-calendar item 17, a seawall agreement, was withdrawn as not needed at this time.