Plans to consider a site to build a new city pool somewhere in Laguna Beach will move forward after councilmembers recently decided the city would not participate with the local school district in its plan to build a new 50-meter pool.

The City Council’s unanimous decision on March 12 followed research by a two-person ad hoc committee of Mayor Sue Kempf and Councilmember Bob Whalen, who have participated in discussion with Laguna Beach Unified School District officials since last fall about the district’s plan to upgrade and expand its current pool, which is now located across from Laguna Beach High.

The 25-meter pool is 30 years old and requires some $1 million in repairs over the next two years, officials have said. District leaders decided in December to proceed with building a 50-meter pool for $19 million. The design process will begin this spring, and the pool is expected to be completed by 2026.

City officials estimate it would cost at least $13 million to build, and $692,000 annually to operate, a new 25-meter pool for public use with the required parking, staffing and infrastructure.

In 2023, the city took in $320,000 from pool passes and registration fees.

After meeting several times with district officials and residents in the neighborhood, the councilmembers said they felt the city’s recreation programs could suffer if the city relied on the use of the district’s pool, given the district has priority use of the facility and would of the larger pool in the future. In the current agreement, the city pays 70% of the operational and maintenance costs and the district pays 30%.

The district has exclusive use of the pool from 1:30 to 6 p.m. during school weekdays, which means that some of the city’s recreational programming, such as youth water polo teams and swim lessons, are held between 6 to 9 p.m.

Councilmembers agreed that if the city operated its own pool, there would be greater program flexibility. Community aquatics classes could be held year-round without scheduling coordination with the district, city leaders said. The city would also have full discretion in the pool’s design, including the number of shallow lanes or possibly having a separate teaching pool to support aquatics programs.

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Community members said that as many as four people are swimming in one lane at a time.

But where the pool might go is up for discussion, with Whalen adding, “Every location we have will have challenges. There is no perfect location.”

The topic of a city pool has been discussed before.

In 2018, the council discussed Lang Park as a possible location, however decided putting it there was not ideal, saying it could impact other recreational activities and would require more parking.

In a 2021 citywide survey of residents’ interest in an additional community pool, 27% of respondents said they “strongly supported” the idea, 31%  “somewhat supported,” 23% “somewhat opposed” and 19% “strongly opposed.”

A new pool would also take three to five years to complete environmental reviews and designs.

As part of their vote to move forward, councilmembers agreed to a suggestion by Councilmember Mark Orgill that the pool be moved to the top of the city’s facilities master plan list so it could get greater priority. He also suggested creating an ad-hoc committee to study the pool project.

“This is a can-do council,” Kempf said, agreeing with moving the project to the top of the list. “We’ll be spending money and making lots of plans. We won’t have a pool anytime soon, but we also don’t want people having to leave town to swim.”

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