Laguna Beach Looks to Boost Tax Revenue

Laguna Beach City Council members are grappling with however to champion boost the city’s income taxation gross arsenic unit pass it’s not expanding arsenic it should. 

Like astir each different Orange County city, Laguna Beach is grappling with expanding bare store spaces arsenic online retailers summation a stronger foothold. 

[Read: Dwindling Sales Tax Forces Orange County Cities to Rethink Approach to Revenue]

This year, metropolis unit task Laguna Beach’s income taxation gross to beryllium conscionable nether $7.7 cardinal – a $260,000 driblet compared to past year, according to the current budget. 

In a survey league past Tuesday, Laguna Beach mulled implicit a survey that showed immoderate of the biggest issues included vacant storefronts, a deficiency of parking and a analyzable licence process to unfastened businesses successful the city. 

According to the presentation, the vacancy rates of buildings successful Laguna Beach roseate from 3.7% successful 2022 to astir 8.3% successful 2024. 

The study besides notes that there’s astir 110,000 quadrate feet of vacant retail abstraction successful the city. 

The survey – conducted by Kosmont Companies and the section enclosure of commerce – was enactment unneurotic implicit the summertime and surveyed 389 concern owners and residents successful the city. 

Mayor Pro Tem Mark Orgill said astatine the gathering that he’d similar to research a vacancy ordinance to “light a fire” nether landlords whose properties are vacant. 

Nearly fractional of the respondents said that concern spaces successful Laguna Beach are underrepresented. 

This besides comes aft the metropolis assembly approved a $5 cardinal dollar makeover for downtown successful November — successful portion to rise gross from the city’s furniture tax.  

[Read: Laguna Beach’s Downtown is Getting a $5 Million Makeover]

Nearly 68% of respondents said parking was a situation successful the city. 

City unit accidental that adding parking tin beryllium a situation arsenic the California Coastal Commission needs to o.k. parking rates, adding that commissioners are often reluctant due to the fact that they prioritize formation access.  

Respondents besides noted the nonaccomplishment of parking spaces to outdoor eating and trolley stops — past November, the metropolis received $7.2 dollars successful region assistance wealth to grow their trolley services. 

[Read: Laguna Beach Expands Trolley & Free Ride Sharing Services]

City councilmember Bob Whalen called the parking codification “nonsensical” and expressed an involvement successful amending it to assistance businesses. 

At the survey session, Mayor Alex Rounaghi directed metropolis unit to make a program addressing the parking concern successful Laguna Beach. 

“It’s not that analyzable a problem. It’s an casual occupation if we privation our tiny businesses to succeed. If you’re a tiny business, it’s an irrational enactment to unfastened a concern successful Laguna Beach,” Rounaghi said astatine the meeting. 

Zac Cornwell, proprietor of Wigz Laguna, a section sandwich shop, said that his concern took astir 3 years to get approved owed to the parking requirements. 

“My full aboriginal career, my family’s future, was connected the enactment of regulations present that I didn’t adjacent recognize erstwhile I got into it,” Cornwell said during nationalist comment. 

Cornwell said that helium needed a definite magnitude of parking spaces successful proportionality to the quadrate feet of his sandwich store and called the parking requirements “unrealistic.”

Laguna Beach considered charging for parking past summertime successful an effort to rise much gross for the city. 

[Read: Free Parking Might Soon Be More Sparse successful Laguna Beach]

Meanwhile, fractional of the survey respondents said that the concern clime successful Laguna Beach has declined implicit the past fewer years. 

Emily Wilson is simply a Voice of OC intern. You tin scope her astatine egwilson33@gmail.com oregon connected Twitter @ewilssson.

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