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One of Laguna Beach’s tiniest beaches, surrounded by high bluffs and historic homes, is set to get a new permanent lifeguard tower, but some residents along the midtown stretch of beach say they don’t want it there.
Moss Street Beach, better known as Moss or Moss Point, is a popular and idyllic beach in a small cove about 250 yards wide, and smack dab in the middle of Laguna Beach’s Marine Protected Areas. It is known for its tide pools, snorkeling and diving.
Moss Street Beach in Laguna Beach on Friday, July 8, 2022. The city Planning Commission approved the construction of an enclosed lifeguard tower at the cove. Some residents in the area want to keep the current portable lifeguard stand. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A woman speaks to the lifeguard at Moss Street Beach in Laguna Beach on Friday, July 8, 2022. The city Planning Commission approved the construction of an enclosed lifeguard tower at the cove. Some residents in the area want to keep the current portable lifeguard stand. 2022. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The stairway leading down to Moss Street Beach in Laguna Beach on Friday, July 8, 2022. The city Planning Commission approved the construction of an enclosed lifeguard tower at the cove. Some residents in the area want to keep the current portable lifeguard stand. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Due to beach erosion, wooden stairs lead from the bottom of the stairway down to Moss Street Beach in Laguna Beach on Friday, July 8, 2022. The city Planning Commission approved the construction of an enclosed lifeguard tower at the cove. Some residents in the area want to keep the current portable lifeguard stand. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Moss Street Beach in Laguna Beach on Friday, July 8, 2022. The city Planning Commission approved the construction of an enclosed lifeguard tower at the cove. Some residents in the area want to keep the current portable lifeguard stand. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The stairway leading down to Moss Street Beach in Laguna Beach on Friday, July 8, 2022. The city Planning Commission approved the construction of an enclosed lifeguard tower at the cove. Some residents in the area want to keep the current portable lifeguard stand. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The current lifeguard stand at Moss Street Beach in Laguna Beach on Friday, July 8, 2022. The city Planning Commission approved the construction of an enclosed lifeguard tower at the cove. Some residents in the area want to keep the current portable lifeguard stand. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The stairway leading down to Moss Street Beach in Laguna Beach on Friday, July 8, 2022. The city Planning Commission approved the construction of an enclosed lifeguard tower at the cove. Some residents in the area want to keep the current portable lifeguard stand. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
“It’s a smaller beach, but for its size, it’s well-visited,” Laguna Beach Lifeguard Chief Kevin Snow said during a recent Planning Commission meeting. “A lot of people move toward Vic (Victoria Beach) and Mermaids along the rocky area, and lifeguards there also have to patrol those areas.”
Snow said the proposed lifeguard tower, which would replace a 1960s-era stand with an umbrella, is necessary for lifeguard and public safety. The enclosed facility would better protect lifeguards from the sun and other weather conditions, while affording them greater visibility to oversee varying ocean conditions, he said.
Its proposed location would also give visitors immediate access to lifeguards as they walk onto the sand. The beach has among the largest expanse of shore rocks in Laguna Beach.
“We’re moving from a 1960s model to a 2020s model,” Snow said, adding that getting new towers is the Marine Safety Department’s highest priority.
Along the city’s stretch of beaches, there are eight towers on caissons and six or seven on skids. The proposed tower, known as the Surveyor Junior, is manufactured by a Laguna Beach resident. Snow said it’s much smaller than towers used in neighboring cities.
The $30,000 lifeguard tower is part of a larger city project to renovate the Moss beach access stairs and surrounding landscape, and was recently approved 4-1 by the city’s Planning Commission. The city has renovated at least five other beach areas south of Main Beach with new stairways, landscapes and other amenities, including at Oak, Mountain, Agate, Thalia and Pearl streets.
In addition to the tower and the staircase, other improvements at Moss will include adding bicycle racks and making it easier for folks with handicaps to access the area.
Two more beach access stairways projects are in the works for Anita and Cleo beaches.
But, neighbors — whose historic homes flank the Moss beach access staircase — say the new tower is unnecessary and would detract from the cove’s natural beauty and the neighborhood’s historic character. And they wonder if its construction could contribute to erosion, runoff and drainage issues.
They want city officials to consider alternatives and are asking the Laguna Beach City Council to consider their concerns at its upcoming July 12 meeting. A petition with 88 signatures from neighbors has been submitted to City Hall asking for alternatives to the enclosed, permanent tower.
“Building a permanent lifeguard tower is not in character with the surrounding natural landscape or historic homes,” said Nolan Miura. “It would be like putting a mustache on the Mona Lisa.”
Miura lives in a home he called the “Woodrow Wilson house,” and his neighbor’s house, “The Ark,” was once owned by an heir to the Wrigley chewing gum fortune.
Miura said, from his perspective, the tower wouldn’t provide enhanced beach safety.
“There are many times when no one is on the beach,” Miura said. “When the lifeguard is there — only three months out of the year — sometimes the only person on the beach is the lifeguard. During high tide and other times, there is no sand on the beach.”
Between Jan. 1, 2016, and Dec. 31, 2021, lifeguards made 46 rescues, 176 medical aids, 19,666 public contacts, 8,358 preventative actions, and 5,115 enforcement contacts, according to city records. These included enforcement of city laws for dogs off-leash, smoking, drinking and protecting the marine animals.
Snow said he expects those numbers to increase as more visitors make their way to this popular seaside town. Moss is also known for some dangerous conditions, such as rip currents, steep shore breaks and rocky areas.
In August 2018, a swimmer drowned off the beach. The new tower would allow for lifeguard staffing increases, according to proponents.
The approximately 4-square-foot wide tower would be made from fiberglass which, unlike wood and metal, is less corrosive in the marine environment. The caisson-mounted structure — which would replace a current seasonal lifeguard stand — is a good choice, officials said, because it doesn’t require level ground and can sit on a base no larger than 3 square feet.
The tower’s caisson was already reduced from 36 to 24 inches. And, Snow said, the new tower’s height would be no different than a lifeguard standing on the unit presently in service at Moss.
But Miura said everyone in his neighborhood opposes the sterile, white permanent structure.
“Our position is, one size doesn’t fit all,” he said. “If you have a lifeguard there for 12 months, it makes sense, but Moss is a quiet beach. On the Fourth of July, there were a dozen people at most.”
A solution he and other neighbors will propose during Tuesday’s meeting, he said, is an enclosed tower that could be erected at the start of the summer season and then removed after Labor Day. They also want it to blend in with the community’s character.
“A lot of folks have pride in the neighborhood — the oldest home in Laguna is here,” Miura said. “It’s a shame to build a commercial-looking lifeguard tower.
“We want to work on a win-win solution with the city,” he added. “Look at designs that fit with Laguna Beach’s legacy as an artist community. Try building a temporary tower more in character with the scenic beach and neighborhood.”
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