Littering, Drinking In Public In Laguna Beach? It May Cost You

LAGUNA BEACH, CA— The Laguna Beach City Council will address an agenda item this week to levying a standard penalty for littering and drinking in public.

Presented by Laguna Beach Police Chief Robert Thompson, the hope is to repeal municipal code sections where there are lower fines regarding drinking and littering.

Chief Thompson joined the Laguna Beach Police Department in November and is already making his mark through streamlining the process of imposing stricter penalties on littering and public drinking.

Currently, fines for littering are quite low, with a first offense at $25 and a second offense littering fine at $50, and upwards from there. Fines for drinking in public start at $30, then are raised to $60.

If Thompson's suggestion comes to pass, the city will impose standard municipal code violations on drinking and littering citations. The first offense would be a $100 fine and the second offense would be $500. It would remain at $500 for a period of one year.

Residents who wish to weigh in on the topic may submit comments in writing via mail to the City Clerk at: 505 Forest Avenue, Laguna Beach, CA. 92651 or by email to amckay@lagunabeachcity.net or by using this interactive form: www.lagunabeachcity.net/comment.

Residents who wish to attend the city council meeting in person to make public comments are allowed to do so. The meeting begins at 5 p.m. Tuesday in council chambers. Face coverings are mandatory. City council meetings will still be live-streamed over Zoom.