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LAGUNA BEACH: THE NEXT 100 YEARS
Three Pillars for a Resilient, Creative & Enduring Community
The certainty of change brings the certainty of opportunity.
C.W. Cooley
PREFACE
Laguna Beach: The Next 100 Years
On June 29, 2022, the community gathered on the cobblestones at Main Beach to celebrate Laguna Beach's 95th anniversary under the theme "Remembering Our Legacy."
That evening, former Mayor Toni Iseman spoke about the community, its future, and what Laguna Beach might become when it reached its 100th anniversary in 2027.
Her message could be distilled into five simple words:
"Your voices must be heard."
Now, 2027 is upon us.
And perhaps the most important way to honor our first 100 years is not simply to celebrate where we have been, but to ask where we intend to go.
Laguna Beach has never been an ordinary community.
Its identity was shaped by artists, environmentalists, independent thinkers, entrepreneurs, preservationists, activists, and people willing to imagine something different. From its beginnings as an artists' colony, through the cultural transformations of the 1960s and beyond, Laguna Beach developed a character that was creative, independent, inclusive, environmentally conscious—and occasionally willing to challenge convention.
That spirit remains part of our community's DNA.
We see it in our commitment to the arts. We see it in the protection of Laguna Canyon and thousands of acres of surrounding open space. We see it in our coastline and marine protected areas. We see it in organizations devoted to wildlife, conservation, culture, community, and the people who call Laguna Beach home.
But preserving a legacy does not mean resisting change.
It means managing change wisely enough that what we value survives it.
Climate change, wildfire risk, an aging electrical grid, rising energy costs, new technologies, changing patterns of communication, tourism, development, transportation, and demographic change will all influence Laguna Beach's second century.
The question is not whether change will come.
It will.
The question is whether we simply react to it—or whether we help shape it.
That is the purpose of this proposal.
It presents a practical framework built around three interconnected pillars: strengthening community resilience and energy security; communicating and protecting the Laguna Beach identity; and expanding our tradition of artistic innovation and cultural leadership.
These are not intended as rigid prescriptions.
They are ideas.
Ideas to investigate. Ideas to challenge. Ideas to improve. And, where they prove worthwhile, ideas to turn into action through measurable objectives, milestones, partnerships, and thoughtful implementation.
The approach is grounded in a simple principle: begin with the problem we are trying to solve, question old assumptions, examine the technologies and opportunities now available to us, and determine what makes sense specifically for Laguna Beach.
Some ideas presented here may initially seem ambitious.
But ambition is hardly foreign to this community.
Previous generations made decisions to protect Laguna Canyon, preserve open space, defend the coastline, support the arts, and maintain the distinctive character of Laguna Beach. Today, those decisions seem inseparable from the community we know.
The next generation will inherit the decisions we make now.
So, as Laguna Beach approaches the beginning of its second century, perhaps this is an appropriate moment to ask a very simple question:
What do we want Laguna Beach to be for the next 100 years?
Not bigger simply for the sake of being bigger.
Not newer simply for the sake of being new.
But safer, more resilient, more sustainable, more creative, more connected—and unmistakably Laguna Beach.
The purpose of what follows is not to replace the Laguna Beach we inherited.
It is to help ensure that the Laguna Beach we love is still here for those who inherit it from us.
Because the certainty of change brings with it something equally certain:
The certainty of opportunity.
ENERGY SECURITY & COMMUNITY RESILIENCE
Laguna Beach faces a challenge shared by communities throughout California—but made more urgent by our geography, wildfire exposure, limited access routes, and dependence on an increasingly stressed electrical grid.
What happens when the power goes out during the moment we need it most?
Pillar One explores a more resilient approach: local renewable generation, battery energy storage, microgrids, and strategically located backup power capable of supporting critical community services during outages and emergencies.
This is not about disconnecting Laguna Beach from the electrical grid. It is about making the community less vulnerable to it.
The technology exists. The opportunity is to determine how Laguna Beach can use it wisely.
A safer community. A more resilient community. A community better prepared for the unexpected.
THE LAGUNA BEACH IDENTITY
Laguna Beach has something most communities spend millions trying to create:
An identity.
Art. Architecture. Beaches. Open space. Environmental stewardship. Independent businesses. LGBTQ+ history. Creativity. Hospitality. Individuality.
Yet in an increasingly digital world, a community's identity is shaped not only by what it is—but by how its story is told.
Pillar Two explores a coordinated approach to community communication, digital media, tourism, cultural storytelling, and civic engagement that allows Laguna Beach to better define and communicate its own narrative.
Not another advertising campaign.
Not another slogan.
Rather, a living expression of who we are, what we value, and why Laguna Beach remains unlike anywhere else.
ART, CULTURE & THE NEXT CREATIVE LAGUNA
Laguna Beach became famous because creative people were willing to experiment here.
Artists came. Writers came. Performers came. Ideas came.
That creative energy helped transform a small coastal community into one of America's most recognizable arts destinations.
Pillar Three asks an important question:
What does the next generation of Laguna Beach creativity look like?
It explores opportunities to expand beyond the traditional visual arts and embrace performance, music, film, digital media, immersive experiences, public spaces, emerging technologies, and new forms of artistic expression.
The goal is not to replace Laguna Beach's artistic traditions.
It is to build upon them.
To give established artists new opportunities, emerging artists a place to be discovered, residents new experiences, and visitors another reason to see Laguna Beach as a community where creativity still happens—not simply a place where its artistic history is remembered.
Honor the legacy. Encourage the experiment. Create what comes next.
ONE COMMUNITY. THREE PILLARS. ONE FUTURE.
These three ideas are intentionally interconnected.
Resilience protects the community.
Identity tells its story.
Creativity keeps it alive.
Together, they represent something larger than individual projects.
They represent an invitation to imagine what Laguna Beach can become in its second century—while protecting everything that made its first century worth celebrating.