Victoria City Issue and Suggestions List
Sunday, April 12, 2026
Meeting goals/agenda:
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Information requests & Opinions:
- Year-round lifeguard
Longer Discussions:
- Visit Laguna funding and results
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Possible Project Setups:
(Decide which ones can be pursued, how to start it, city point person?)
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Involving Caltrans?:
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List Details:
1) Dumond Ramp Rebuild: We heard a year or two ago that there was some plan that in 5 or 6 years there was a plan to rebuild the ramp for better lifeguard access and to get the storm drain water off the sand. A lot of concern here about making sure no public facilities would be added. Doing something about the storm runoff would be a huge plus. Is there any status on that project?
2) Building Permits: The current situation is unacceptable. What specific actions can be taken, and when, to rectify this? We need a system with clear, unambiguous standards and a permitting process that enables predictable commercial and residential development.
3) Year round lifeguard: Probably something that should be revisited as to need and effectiveness.
4) The sidewalks on both sides of PCH: The sidewalks on both sides of PCH require regular maintenance, but due to the complex web of Caltrans easements, private property, and lack of city control, there's currently no means of maintaining them other than through volunteers. This poses a significant safety issue, as the lack of maintenance forces pedestrians to walk in traffic lanes. Is there any possibility of a crew coming through a couple of times a year to maintain the walkways?
5) Gelsons: Why is that location continuing to be empty and is there any hope for some kind of grocery store there?
6) CR&R: Seems like a really mixed review. Some people have absolutely had improved service and are very happy with the change. On the other hand, some people have had really negative experiences. Extremely poor driving seems to be the main issue. Just in this neighborhood, they have knocked down a wall, broken a hedge. We are guessing a lot of damage occurring throughout Laguna and they have also killed two people (Newport/Laguna). They seem to have a problem with consistency in the quality and training of their drivers. Maybe we need smaller trucks. In any case, a definite level of dissatisfaction and concern. We need better.
7) Mission Hospital shutting down / No local ER: Given our relative isolation and time to get into and out of town, especially in summer, this is extremely concerning. How can Laguna respond to this?
8) Easy-ups on the beach: Is it correct that easy-ups will no longer be allowed next summer? We strongly support that decision.
9) Trashcan containers on PCH and within neighborhood: There has been a huge improvement in recent years with the installation of trashcans. The next step for the more visible ones along the roadways is to convert them to hidden, concrete encasements. Considering the investments residents make and the need to accommodate tourism trash, we should make an effort to maintain a better appearance in the area.
10) Bicycle pump track at Mouton Meadows: Not supported. That area, like Victoria, is a residential area that was never designed for the increased visitor load and traffic caused by existing activities. Increased traffic on Nyes, as well as likely more emergency equipment required on those streets, would be a significant burden to the local area.
11) Visit Laguna funding and results:
-Why was a 10-year advertising commitment made when communications technology, AI implementation, and the character of the city are all evolving so rapidly? This seems like a poorly implemented decision. Bad investment/Bad returns: Not all tourism is equal. We should invest in what pays off; otherwise, it makes no sense to attract more tourism if it just increases costs to residents.
12) Permitted activities around the north corner: It's not a good location once the sand is gone as it becomes a goat trail most winters. It's unreasonable to hold group events in those conditions, especially during the winter months when there's no sand. Wedding and group events should be limited to the main part of Victoria.
13) Painted Utility Boxes: Looks like a very successful program south of us. They look great rather than eyesores. Laguna has apparently decided that we can’t do that due to graffiti concerns regardless of other cities successful implementation…. Why can’t we try a pilot program? Or maybe if an individual neighborhood decided to somehow sponsor a local effort, could that be done?
14) Beach Access Signs on PCH inland: Very common to see people parking between Dizz’s and Solana on the inland side of PCH and running across PCH to get to the beach. Point is that the bridge is only a block away and many people are probably not aware of that. Can we put a few signs along the PCH sidewalk pointing to the underpass beach access?
15) Waterwise sign: A number of residents have been requesting some kind of upgrade or maybe different location for the sign. It’s not a particularly high-caliber look especially considering the value of the homes and the investments that people have made to live here.
16) Off Leash Dogs: Two community inputs:
a) Local Off Leash: A proposal to have local permits, maybe displayed like fishing licenses, etc.
b) Lang Park: Could that be made into a dog park pre and post Montessori school time? What are the obstacles and considerations?
17) Bagged Parking Meter by Dizz’s: A meter is bagged at the intersection of PCH and Victoria Pl. This was done in accordance with a recent safety law requiring parking to be at least 20ft from a crosswalk. The issue is that there are still parking markers on the street and people keep parking there anyway which both subverts the intention of the law as well as causing beach-goers to get ticketed. Obviously, it is their fault but none the less, it should be fixed.
Apparently there are about 20 such meters in Laguna, all with the same issues. The city is looking into use for ebikes, etc. but seems to have stalled out and not allowed corrective actions to take place such as red painting the curb, remarking the street, removing the meters. Can we move the dial on this?
18) Discussion/Warnings/Tickets: There's been increasing discussion about the effectiveness of addressing transgressions through talking vs. warnings vs. tickets. While de-escalating destructive or agitated situations is productive, lengthy discussions about minor issues like easy-ups or glass on the beach may not be. Our concern is that without a policy leaning towards warnings, and ultimately tickets, there's little social media "advertisement" of negative experiences, which is important, especially with limited enforcement resources. We want these interactions to be memorable. Warnings are cost-effective and impactful, and tickets should follow continued violations.
19) What happened to our beach and parking enforcement resources?: We were promised a team of Park Rangers to replace the beach and parking patrol. However, it appears many of those positions have been absorbed into the regular police force. We believe there are only two parking patrol positions city-wide, and we rarely see officers patrolling the beach regularly. What resources do we currently have, and what are the plans to provide the level of presence we were initially told to expect?
20) Handrails for the Victoria Beach upper part of the stairway: The upper part of that stairway is a long, sloped stretch of irregular asphalt that can be slippery when sandy. There is no good way up or down from the beach that provides a consistent handhold along the slope. The ramp has a much longer stretch of steep slope without handrails and often has a drop at the end. The neighborhood is also generally an aging population.