'You will be ticketed:' Laguna Beach launches ad campaign to stop bad behavior as complaints rise
LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. (KABC) -- The city of Laguna Beach launched an ad campaign to help stop bad behavior on the beach following a rise in complaints.
The ad campaign will target people within a 30-mile radius and tackles issues like smoking, littering and drinking alcohol on the beach.
"We all live here because we love the beach, so we want people to enjoy it," said Mayor Sue Kempf. "We just ask that when people come to the beach that they abide by our rules."
One of the ads even addressed those with loud exhausts.
"In a city like this where there's three ways in and three ways out, and you're pretty much at a canyon, when you come into the city and your exhaust has been modified, it reverberates off the hills and comes right back into the city," explained LBPD Capt. Mike Peters.
Over the 4th of July weekend, the city said it was overwhelmed with a nearly 400% spike in water rescues. Meanwhile, lifeguards made 2,278 water rescues during the holiday weekend, a 395% spike from last year's 460 rescues.
Police have also seen calls for service and DUI arrests go up, with 242 more calls this year than last year's holiday week and DUI arrests doubling from 5 to 10.
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"We try to get the most visitors that come to the beach to kind of let them know, 'Hey, pick up after yourself, and just behave yourself when you're here,' [and] most people do,'" said Kempf. "Most people don't behave badly at all. Most people are absolutely great. It's just that these incidents that we've had have just kind of been on steroids over the last couple of months."
It's no secret that Laguna Beach is one of most beautiful cities in Orange County. Daniel Park lives in Laguna Niguel and visits the neighboring town often.
"I think just the culture of it," he said. "It's like a vacation spot, so we're very fortunate that we have easy access to it."
Michaela King also visits Laguna Beach regularly but has avoided it recently.
"We just circled and circled and circled and couldn't find parking, so we're like, 'Let's just go home,'" she said. "It just got too busy."
The Laguna Beach Police Department said officers do not hand out warnings, so violators caught breaking the law for things like littering, smoking or even having their dog off the leash will face fines starting at $100.
The campaign, which cost the city $3,500, will run until the end of the month.
