Wealthy Orange County city plans $500 fines for shade structures at beach

Beachgoers planning to spend time in Laguna Beach this summer are likely better off leaving most of their shade structures at home.

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On April 28, the Laguna Beach City Council voted in favor of an ordinance that bans shade coverings other than standard beach umbrellas on nearly all of the city’s beaches. The ordinance, which passed unanimously, would affect about 95% of the city’s beach areas and is set to take effect on May 26. 

Laguna Beach’s new ruling attempts to mitigate what some say are safety concerns from lifeguards who need a clear line of sight to the ocean. Many residents of the small, wealthy coastal town (where the median home value is north of $2 million) were also in favor of the ordinance as a way to address large summer crowds.

“Most of us here grew up sitting underneath umbrellas. You know, we didn’t bring giant shade structures down,” Councilmember Sue Kempf said during an earlier April 14 meeting discussing the ordinance. “… It doesn’t sound great, but when people bring big shade structures, they also bring a lot of stuff. And part of the problem with all the trash on the beach is people are bringing a lot of stuff. And then we as a city have to get rid of them.”

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Since January, the city council had considered a full ban on the structures. But Marine Safety Chief Kai Bond recommended a compromise that would allow canopies and other beach coverings up to 8 by 8 feet to be set up in specific zones on Main Beach and Aliso Beach, behind lifeguard towers at least 20 feet away from emergency access paths and at least 5 feet apart from other canopies and beach coverings. 

During the April 28 meeting, some residents expressed further concern about the city’s non-beach parks.

“The barbecues there at Heisler Park … people show up at 6 o’clock in the morning, or whenever you can come to a park, and they monopolize it all day long,” Claudia Redfern said. “You should be able to only stay there two hours or four hours.” Redfern added that “a group of people come in and monopolize one part of our city [to the point that] we as residents can’t even use it,” though she did not specify which group of people she was referring to.

Laguna Beach has long had a contentious relationship with tourists and others from around Orange County and the Inland Empire who come to enjoy the city’s pristine (and public) beaches, particularly during the warm summer months. Officials have sought various ways to crack down on what some locals see as overcrowding, including raising area parking rates and imposing fines for public drinking and littering, while some coastal homeowners have tried to claim sections of the beach as entirely private. 

The city plans to educate beachgoers about the forthcoming shade ordinance using signage around town and sandwich boards near the beaches, and on Sunday, the city posted about the new rules on its social media. Marine Safety and beach patrol will be responsible for enforcement, with violators potentially fined up to $500.