Workshop to focus on downtown plans

The city will host a public workshop Nov. 15 as part of the Laguna Beach Downtown Specific Plan update, according to a news release.

The event, to be held from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. along a portion of Ocean Avenue near Coast Highway, will allow the public to interact with city staff about possible street improvements, including parklets and bulb-outs, the release says.

The section of Ocean Avenue will be closed to vehicular traffic from 6 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. to allow for set up and tear down, associate city planner Wendy Jung wrote in an email.

Parklets are small spaces that extend from sidewalks and provide green space and places to sit. Bulb-outs, also called curb extensions, widen the sidewalk and narrow the roadway.

Topics will include street and intersection treatments, open-space and parking improvements, and building heights.

The city will also provide information to the community on the plan update at the First Thursdays Art Walk on Nov. 6, the Laguna Beach High School football game on Nov. 7, Hospitality Night on Dec. 5 and during the Sawdust Art Festival’s Winter Fantasy, which begins Nov. 22.

The city and its consultants will answer questions, hand out surveys and oversee interactive displays.

For more information, visit lagunabeachcity.net or contact Jung at (949) 497-0321 or [email protected].

—Bryce Alderton

Twitter: @AldertonBryce