Plans to make Laguna Beach’s Promenade on Forest a destination feature will likely be determined by a design competition involving several firms, city officials decided Tuesday, Jan. 23.
The promenade conceived of more than three years ago as a lifeline for restaurants and shops during the pandemic, has been a temporary setup, with the council deciding in 2021 to make the location on Forest Avenue permanent.
Since its conception, the focus has shifted from helping retailers and restaurants with an outdoor space to survive the pandemic to making the lower stretch of Forest Avenue – starting at Main Beach – a community gathering spot and a place for music, street art, and performances. The idea for the plaza is to enhance Laguna Beach’s downtown while maintaining its character and turning the promenade into a destination for locals and visitors.
In 2022, the city held a survey after hiring a design firm to get public input on what the permanent setup should look like. Two more workshops were held, with the most recent in May. In July, the city’s Planning Commission considered two design options. The City Council reviewed those on Tuesday but unanimously agreed neither option was ideal and decided more input was needed.
Mayor Sue Kempf and Councilmember Mark Orgill were tapped to work with city staffers to develop options to better fit the council’s and community’s desires for the promenade. After 90 days, the two will report back with a new plan that includes opening the project to a design competition and hopefully drawing more options. The city has budgeted $2.7 million for the project so far. Construction on the new plaza design could start after the summer of 2025 once the Planning Commission and council review it and it meets other entitlements and requirements.
The temporary promenade, prompted by Kempf as a solution during the pandemic, was put together in a month and needs to be rethought and refreshed, officials said, including adding some new amenities.
“We want the whole street designated for (liquor sales) where restaurants can serve alcohol without having to rope areas off,” said Kempf. “We want it to be elegant and simple.”
Councilmember Bob Whalen agreed, saying, “Let ’em do what they do best after we’ve given them physical constraints and what we want to see in terms of tree preservation. It’s our downtown; we ought to have some choices to choose from.”
Planning commissioners had unanimously favored a Forest Stroll concept, which featured random tree placement and pockets of informal space, but maximized outdoor dining. The other design presented, dubbed the Promenade Walk, showed more space for outdoor events and included an open center, maximizing views onto Main Beach. While favoring Forest Stroll, the commissioners agreed in July that there was room for improvement.
About 20 people, including local merchants with businesses on the street, addressed the council during public comments about the two designs.
Most of the public speakers weren’t thrilled with either concept. Concerns ranged from tearing out mature 50-foot eucalyptus trees and adding new ones that might never reach that height, to details in the designs they said didn’t fit the beach town’s character. Some retail shop owners complained the promenade has been more beneficial to restaurants and left their customers with no parking access at their storefronts.
The promenade was created by closing the first block of Forest Avenue between Coast Highway and Glenneyre Street to cars.
“The idea we would have cars driving through there and it would bring more charm for me is unimaginable,” Councilmember Alex Rounaghi said, adding that the promenade is the most visionary thing the community has done. “The idea of a hybrid (pedestrian and vehicles) is not what I’m supportive of.”
A survey done in 2021 indicated the plaza is a hit, with 96% of the public supporting the concept and 87% saying they liked its look.
Councilmember George Weiss wondered why new data on its success hasn’t been gathered.
“We need more input,” he said. “First it was for COVID, now it’s for residents. What’s the number of people coming in, and who are they? We don’t know. Is it 80% tourists and 20% residents? Why haven’t we collected that data? What’s the sales tax from the promenade.”
New data reflecting attendance at the promenade will be part of the subcommittee’s 90-day review, said Tom Perez, assistant director of Public Works, who has been heading up the project.
In the meantime, Rounaghi suggested the city continue pop-ups and other events on the temporary plaza to help gauge some of the overall project’s scope.
“I like the idea of a design competition,” he said. “That allows us to be creative.”
“The promenade is something exciting,” he added. “How do we not make it cookie-cutter? We don’t want it to be like something found in a mall in one of the surrounding cities. We want it to be what Laguna is about – our artistic identity.”
