South Laguna's Coast Highway Parking Pilot Keeps Most New Spaces Free, and Gives Residents No Head Start

"I don't want to build a bunch of spaces that nobody's going to use," City Manager Dave Kiff told a packed South Laguna town hall on Aug. 27, 2025, as reported by the Laguna Beach Independent. A year later, the plan that came out of that meeting is fully approved. Most of the conversation since then has been about the price, but for someone who parks near home in South Laguna, the price is the smaller change. The bigger one is a clock. Most of the Coast Highway curb has no time limit today, and the pilot gives it one that applies to residents and visitors the same way.

The Curb Today and the Curb Under the Permit

The project area runs about three miles along Coast Highway, from Ruby Street to 500 feet south of Vista del Sol. According to the California Coastal Commission staff report, that stretch currently has unmarked, free curbside parking with no time restrictions, apart from a small number of existing single-space meters.

Free spaces outnumber paid ones, 264 to 237. The paid rate also matches the city's 2026 summer rate for meters outside downtown, which is $3.95 an hour, compared with $7.00 downtown. What has no equivalent on this stretch today is the five-hour cap, and it applies to the free spaces as well as the metered ones.

The Same Five Hours for Everyone

The pilot gives no priority parking to people who live on these blocks. Laguna Beach's certified Local Coastal Program prohibits new preferential parking districts in the coastal zone. When an appeal argued that the pilot worked as a resident-only zone in practice, Coastal Commission staff answered that residents face the same limits as everyone else:

"The residents who live on these streets will compete for parking spaces along with the general public."

The Daily Pilot reported that Coastal Commission Vice Chair Caryl Hart raised the time limit's effect on residents' parking before moving the program forward. Commissioners then voted unanimously to deny the appeal.

The rule changes more than the cost of a beach day. A guest's long lunch, a contractor's full workday, or a second car left out front in the afternoon now runs on a five-hour limit during enforcement hours. After 7 p.m., the curb goes back to free and unrestricted until morning.

The Side Streets the Pilot Reaches

The permit doesn't stop at the highway. The Commission's report lists portions of eight cross streets, each extending up to 165 feet inland from Coast Highway:

• Upland Road
• Eagle Rock Way
• Catalina Avenue
• 2nd Avenue
• 3rd Avenue
• 4th Avenue
• 5th Avenue
• 9th Avenue

The Daily Pilot's August coverage also included 10th Avenue. The Commission's permit description does not. Earlier in the process, a May 11 neighborhood update described the meters as limited to the highway. The final permit replaced that version.

Appellants also argued the plan would cost the area 63 spaces, including 13 around 8th, 9th and 10th avenues. Commission staff replied that turning unmarked curb into about 501 marked, code-compliant spaces does not count as a reduction, because no delineated spaces exist there now.

What a Shopper Permit Already Covers

The pilot creates no new permit, and none is needed for residents to pay ahead. The city's existing Shopper Permit already works at city meters, and the Commission's report describes holders as paying "ahead of time" at the new pay stations. According to the city's permit page:

1. It is available only to Laguna Beach residents with proof of residency, such as a utility bill, car registration or lease in their name.
2. It costs $80 each for the first two permits and $150 each for a third and fourth, with a maximum of four per household.
3. It covers city lots 1 through 9, Lot 22, and all city meters for the posted time without additional payment.
4. It runs on a two-year cycle, Aug. 1 to July 31, with renewal notices mailed in May of even-numbered years.
5. Fees are prorated after the first year to $40 and $75.

Lot 22 is the Aliso Beach lot, with 258 spaces, a posted $3.50 hourly rate, an eight-hour limit and enforcement from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. The same permit that covers the pay stations covers South Laguna's main beach lot too.

The permit still doesn't stop the clock. Holders follow the same five-hour limit on Coast Highway as everyone else. The city also lists a separate $200-per-year Residential Permit for select downtown and Coast Highway-adjacent addresses, which allows up to 24 hours at a city meter within one block of home. Eligibility depends on the address, so confirm with the city whether a given home qualifies. This is general information, not legal or financial advice, and the city's parking office has the final word on any specific permit.

Where the Meter Money Goes

The city's case to the Coastal Commission tied the new revenue to the free trolley. The trolley carries about 800,000 riders a year to more than 30 beaches, including Thousand Steps Beach, Totuava Bay, Table Rock Cove, Aliso Beach, Treasure Island Beach and West Street Beach. Trolley costs are rising about four to five percent a year.

That's the reasoning behind the split. The paid spaces bring in money for the trolley, and the time limit is meant to keep cars turning over, with the stated goal of reducing summer congestion and making the highway safer for cyclists and pedestrians. Of the two, only the time limit affects South Laguna's free spaces.

From Town Hall to Pay Stations

1. Aug. 27, 2025. At a town hall, residents push back on redesigning the Aliso Beach lot.
2. Sept. 23, 2025. The City Council sets the Aliso lot redesign aside and tells staff to pursue Caltrans coordination for South Laguna.
3. April 21, 2026. City staff hold a public workshop on the pilot.
4. May 6, 2026. The Planning Commission approves local permit CDP 2026-0617.
5. July 21, 2026. The City Council awards IPS Group a five-year mobile-parking contract and approves a 50-cent fee per mobile transaction.
6. Aug. 14, 2026. The Coastal Commission finds no substantial issue with an appeal filed by the Woods Cove Owners Association and two residents, which leaves the city's approval in place.

There is still no published start date. In August, the city said the schedule depended on pay-station availability and the switch to the new mobile-payment provider. In July, the City Manager said the new app would take "a handful of months" to launch, according to the Daily Pilot. As of late October, the city's mobile parking app page still sends drivers to the existing Frogparking app.

The off-season runs from Sept. 8, 2026, through June 21, 2027. The permit lasts one year. If the city finds it hurts public access, it can rework the approach before adopting anything permanent.

If you own a home along the Coast Highway corridor and want to know how the five-hour curb could affect guest parking, contractor access or a future buyer's first impression of your block, Kira Nimmer-Crabel can go through it with you street by street. Schedule a consultation.