Laguna Beach Ballot Measures: Hotel Worker Minimum Wage, Public Votes on Developments

A view from Main Beach in Laguna Beach, Calif., on Oct. 15, 2020. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

Laguna Beach voters will decide if large developments and hotel renovations should be subject for a public vote for approval and to raise the minimum wage for the city’s hotel workers in the Nov. 8 election.

Measure Q

The measure would put large development proposals along the Coast Highway and Laguna Canyon Road to a public vote for approval.

A row of shops faces Main Beach in Laguna Beach, Calif., on Nov. 18, 2020. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

This would apply to proposals that exceed the following:

• 36 feet in height
• 22,000 square feet in floor size
• 200 additional daily vehicle trips
• Lots over 7,500 square feet

Proposals for single-family homes, 100 percent affordable housing, K–12 schools, hospitals, and churches would be exempt.

The initiative was brought forward by Laguna Residents First, a grassroots political action committee, and qualified for the ballot in January, according to the city clerk.

Proponents of the measure say it will prevent overdevelopment in the city, thereby preserving residents’ quality of life, and allow voters to get involved in project decisions happening in their neighborhoods.

Those opposing it, including the city’s mayor and police chief, say it would discourage development and updates to decades-old facilities, and affect renovation for small businesses, like salons, restaurants, and coffee shops.

The Laguna Beach City Council voted in July 3–0 opposing the ballot measure, with councilors Toni Iseman and George Weiss abstaining.

Measure R

The measure would require all new hotel developments and major renovations to existing hotels along the Coast Highway and Laguna Canyon Road to be subject to restrictions related to density, parking, and open space.

Any hotel development that exceeds those restrictions would be subject to a public vote for approval.

Pacific Coast Highway in Laguna Beach, Calif., on Oct. 15, 2020. John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

Those standards are among the following for new hotels:

• One hotel room per 800 square feet
• 1.5 parking spaces for each room, plus one space for every 15 rooms and two spaces for residences
• 35 percent of the hotel’s nonresidential floor area must be accessible to the public, excluding parking and driveways

For existing hotels, renovations exceeding 15 percent of the following standards, within a 5-year period, would trigger a public vote:

• Exterior walls
• Roofs and floors, not including eaves and decks
• 15 percent expansion of building square footage
• Construction costs equaling 15 percent of existing buildings

The initiative was brought forward by Unite Here 11—a local labor union representing hotel, restaurant, transportation, and textile manufacturing workers—and qualified for the ballot in April, according to the city clerk.

Proponents of the measure, including some residents and hotel workers, say it would allow better regulation of hotel developments in the city and allow residents to get involved in what is happening in the city.

Those opposing it—including the mayor, mayor pro tem chamber of commerce chair, and hotel managers—say it puts local hotel developments through an onerous process that could threaten property repairs and lead to run-down resorts.

The city council voted in July 5–0 in opposition to the ballot measure.

Measure S

The measure would raise the minimum wage for hotel workers to $18 an hour, increasing by $1 every year until 2026.

That’s an increase from the current minimum wage, which is $14 for employers with 25 or fewer employees, or $15 an hour for those with more.

The measure, if approved, would also limit the amount rooms workers can be asked to clean. In hotels with fewer than 40 rooms, workers would be required to clean more than 4,000 square feet of floor space per day, and 3,500 square feet per day for larger hotels.

The Coast Inn in Laguna Beach, Calif., on Oct. 15, 2020 John Fredricks/The Epoch Times

It would also limit overtime to no more than 10 hours per day, unless the hotel worker consents in writing.

The proposed measure also requires hotels to equip housekeepers with “panic buttons”—a device that can provide immediate help when a person feels threatened.

The measure was also brought forward by Unite Here 11 and qualified for the ballot in April, according to the city clerk.

Supporters of the measure—including Councilman George Weiss and some hotel workers and residents—argue that with current pay, hotel workers are having a hard time making ends meet and most of the workers do not live in the city due to the inflated cost of living.

They also say housekeepers need a panic button because they work alone in a room most of the time and are vulnerable to threats, such as sexual assault.

However, opponents of the measure—including the mayor, mayor pro tem, chamber of commerce chair, and hotel managers—say the compensation workers receive now is already over the minimum wage line the measure calls for. They say the labor union is using this opportunity to collect new labor affiliation dues.

Additionally, they say the city’s hotels are already providing workers with panic devices.

The city council voted in July 4–0 opposing the ballot measure, with Councilman Weiss abstaining.