S. Laguna Beach cracking down on unruly visitors

Anabel Munoz Image
Saturday, April 1, 2017
S. Laguna Beach cracking down on unruly visitors
South Laguna Beach is hoping to maintain its coastal beauty and serenity by cracking down on behavior of unruly visitors.

SOUTH LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- The once-serene South Laguna Beach is finding itself too popular for its own good.

The Orange County community is trying to fight back against the headaches - parking, drinking, noise - that come with the big beach crowds.

One of the main concerns folks have is parking. They say many of the residential streets are too narrow already and that visitors seem to ignore "no parking" signage.

They also say many are drinking and leaving empty cans and bottles in their neighborhoods.

"There's parking in front of signs that do say no parking," Irene Bowie. South Laguna Civic Association: "What we feel we need is more enforcement from the city and county. We need more police out ticketing."

Members of the South Laguna Civic Association have been meeting with city leaders to discuss these issues.

The city council has voted to look at ways to continue beefing up parking enforcement and beach patrols.

The Laguna Beach Police Department says it saw a 231 percent increase in arrests in the area compared to last summer. The police department just added four full-time beach patrol officers who stay on duty until midnight. The county also hired private security to monitor beaches.