Laguna Beach residents could soon see improvements to some nearby parks as city council members eye a new plan to overhaul things from playground equipment to ramps and signage to accommodate people with disabilities.
Last month, Laguna Beach City Council members voted unanimously to receive and file a new “Playground Master Plan,” which lays out plans for renovations for nine playgrounds throughout the city.
Overall, the non-binding proposal would inform staff on spending nearly $3.14 million to bring Laguna Beach’s parks up to date with current accessibility and environmental standards as well as to repaint and renovate the parks to improve accessibility and safety.
The parks plan comes as Laguna Beach officials grapple with how to best boost city coffers after seeing a slump in sales tax revenue.
[Read: Laguna Beach Looks to Boost Tax Revenue]
Laguna Beach isn’t the only Orange County city looking to overhaul parks.
Earlier this year, Fountain Valley officials approved a 16-acre expansion of the city’s sports park.
[Read: Fountain Valley Looks to Improve Sports Park With 16-Acre Expansion and Upgrades]
And numerous South Orange County cities, most recently Dana Point, have been adding pickleball courts to parks in recent years.
[Read: More Pickleball Courts Are Coming to Orange County]
Meanwhile, Laguna Beach’s master plan is expected to serve as a framework for future park overhauls according to the staff report.
Now, city staff will begin work on implementing the master plan that they say can get started as soon as possible, and would improve a different playground each year.
“The purpose [of the master plan] was to help guide and inform the capital improvement program, prioritize the repairs and replacements that were needed by identifying safety issues and also reaching out to the community for aesthetics and amenities,” Laguna Beach Assistant Engineer Frank Lopez said at the April 22 meeting.
Following questions from Mayor Alex Rounaghi regarding next steps of the master plan, Lopez said the master plan is a foundation for future changes.
“It’s to inform and guide us,” Lopez said. “We would still analyze each playground, but it gives us a good place to start.”
City Engineer Thomas Perez said since officials now have a framework, work could get started soon.
“We could start as early as tomorrow, essentially, where we would be bringing on a designer and getting that design implemented,” Perez said.
Perez also clarified that the master plan is specifically oriented towards improving playgrounds themselves, rather than the parks as a whole.
According to the staff report, the Playground Improvement Plan would be implemented over three stages, starting with planning and preliminary design, design development and lastly construction.
Furthermore, Lopez explained that each project will undergo individual assessments for California Environmental Quality Act standards and funding concerns.
According to the staff report, of the nine parks listed, Village Green Park and Bluebird Park both fail safety standards and pose a risk to users of these facilities. These risks include possible death, loss of a limb and permanent disability, as well as failing disability access standards set by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
During public comment, one resident pointed out that she hopes the city should also stay consistent and not change the design of certain playgrounds in the city when renovating Village Green Park.
“I would just urge you to keep that [rustic] theme in mind,” Laguna Beach resident Anne Kristoff said.
In addition, nearly all playgrounds slated for renovations have not been updated in over 10 years, with the exception of Riddle Field Park that saw a new playground constructed in 2023.
Though city staff stated during the April 22 council meeting that these projects could get underway in the near future, it remains unclear when the overhauls could happen.
Rubén Montoya is a Voice of OC intern. You can reach him at rubenmontoya47@outlook.com or on Twitter @Rmontoya47.