Neighborhood Congregational Church (NCC) has been part of the fabric of the Laguna Beach community for 80 years. Like many mainline Protestant churches across the country, NCC has experienced declining membership and an underutilization of its facilities and land. The members of NCC have been on a journey, exploring how to better use their Laguna Beach property for the benefit of the community. 

NCC is reimagining its site, reducing the size of its spiritual center, and making way for affordable housing. Laguna Beach needs more affordable housing for limited-income seniors, artists, and many others who work in lower-wage jobs in the city. No new 100% affordable projects have been built in over 20 years.

NCC plans to continue to meet on Sundays. It will remain a spiritual center, hosting peak experiences and programs nurturing the heart, mind, and soul at the corner of Glenneyre Street and St Ann’s Drive. The church is deeply committed to stimulating the exploration of spirituality, social justice and equity in Laguna Beach. 

NCC is committed to using its property for community benefit. The City of Laguna Beach General Plan Housing Element (2021-2029) identified NCC’s property as one of four sites with the potential to yield new affordable housing units. Mandated by the State of California, the City of Laguna Beach is required to encourage its “fair share” of housing with the addition of 394 housing units—affordable to all economic segments—over the next five years. Of these, 198 units are needed for extremely low, very low and low-income households or those earning from about $33,150 to $102,300 a year, depending on family size.

Ranked among the top ten least affordable metropolitan areas in the country, Orange County is suffering from an affordable housing crisis. More than 80% of households earning less than $30,000 per year pay more than half of their income on housing. A wage of $49.92/hour is required to afford an average two-bedroom rental in Orange County of $2,596.

Laguna Beach is one of the most expensive cities to live in the U.S. The average monthly rent for a 591 square foot one-bedroom apartment is approximately $2,617, 73% higher than the national average for rent. In Laguna Beach, renters can expect to pay approximately $2,573 for a studio, $3,393 for a two-bedroom apartment, and $4,444 or more for a three-bedroom apartment.

There is often confusion about the term affordable housing. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines affordable housing as housing where a household pays no more than 30% of their gross income on housing costs, including utilities. 

Related California was selected in a competitive review process. Related California, the West Coast affiliate of Related Companies, is a fully integrated firm that develops multifamily residential and mixed-use properties in California. Related California has a 34-year track record and a development portfolio of more than 20,700 residential units completed or under construction. Related California has extensive experience building and securing financing for affordable housing, and a long history of collaborating with church partners to create housing throughout California. Related California has an Orange County office and a local team with experience developing in Laguna Beach.

NCC members have entered into a long-term lease agreement with Related California to continue the exploration to build a 100% affordable housing development with approximately 51-55 units, which will include onsite property management, and the continuation of our presence adjacent to the housing. Preliminary plans were presented to the community on October 7, 2024 and can be viewed here. The project team expects to submit the formal application for entitlement in November 2024.

NCC will lease a portion of the land for affordable housing to Related California, but will remain as the land owner.

Yes, the nonprofit organizations involved in the proposed development include NCC and Riverside Charitable Corporation, located in Tustin.

Unfortunately, images were widely circulated that inaccurately represented the proposed development —a yellow image that was based on a 2D image was included in the Notice of Funding Availability application to the City. This image was only an estimate of the proposed maximum number of units that could be built; this is called a yield study. Architectural renderings for the preliminary plans can be viewed here.

No. None of the proposed buildings will be higher than the current NCC sanctuary.

The income-qualified residents will be seniors, individuals and families who work in jobs earning between $33,150 to $102,300 a year and qualify based on minimum and maximum income restrictions. The project will not include Permanent Supportive Housing units.

The following jobs in Laguna Beach are within the income-eligible ranges: grocery clerk, day care worker, teacher’s aide, groundskeeper, caregiver, elementary school teacher, mail carrier, construction worker, bookkeeper, retail sales, EMT, hotel and restaurant employees, among many others.

Approximately half of the units will be studios and 1-bedroom apartments, with the other half being 2- and 3-bedroom apartments.

The Montessori school will remain at its current location until the start of construction, which is not anticipated to be for another two years. After careful consideration and thought, it was determined that it was infeasible to keep the school in the reimagination of the site.

Related California will own the housing and NCC will own the spiritual center. A management company will provide the leasing and maintenance of the rental units, with on-site management.

According to the University of California, Irvine Livable Cities Lab study The Impact of Affordable Housing on Housing and Crime in Orange County (June 2022), “The siting of affordable housing does not negatively affect housing prices in Orange County. In fact, we see modest increases in both sales prices and price per square footage county wide, with the most pronounced impact in places categorized with higher rates of poverty. The siting of affordable housing reduces most types of crime.”

Yes. NCC contracts with a third-party vendor to use our parking lot. Currently the only entitlement tied to our property is Red Dragon, which is closed. There are no other entitlements tied to the property according to City of Laguna Beach planning staff. The other ongoing contract for parking is with the Montessori school staff and parents.

NCC is committed to community outreach during the planning and development process. There will be opportunities for the public to provide input on the development as it goes through the review process at the City of Laguna Beach. NCC will keep the community informed as it moves forward with this much-needed, dynamic development for Laguna Beach.

The proposed onsite parking is located partially below grade and includes approximately 90 parking spaces; one space per unit plus approximately 40 parking spaces for the spiritual center and/or public.

Careful consideration has been given to maintain view corridors to the maximum extent possible. The spiritual center height and the back portion of the residential building have been reduced to a 2-story design in an attempt to mitigate potential impacts to views from Catalina Street and St. Ann’s. There are portions of the site where the building heights may be less than the existing structures, which could potentially offer new or better views in certain locations. The three-story portion remains on the commercial corridor of Glenneyre.

Generous setbacks are planned on all sides of the site. The setbacks on St. Ann’s (adjacent), Catalina (frontage), Cleo (adjacent) and Glenneyre (adjacent) have all been increased to 12-feet. St. Ann’s (frontage) and Glenneyre (frontage) setbacks will be a minimum of 5-feet.

From inception, it was always our goal to create a welcoming entrance, as the existing space on St. Ann’s is a neighborhood respite.  The proposed development will include a community plaza with seating at the Glenneyre entrance that can be used by the neighborhood and residents. The Glenneyre entrance will lead to both the housing and spiritual center. There will be lush landscaping throughout the perimeter of the site.

For 30%-60% of Area Median Income (gross rents before utility allowances), the rental rate ranges will be:

• Studio Units:   $828 to $1,657
• 1-Bed Units:    $887 to $1,775
• 2-Bed Units:    $1,065 to $2,131
• 3-Bed Units:    $1,231 to $2,462

Currently, these housing units will remain affordable for 55 years. At the end of the 55-year term, NCC will have the option to renew the affordability covenants on the project. It is the intent of NCC to keep the units affordable in perpetuity through continued renewals of the covenants.

The project team expects to submit the formal application for entitlement in November 2024. The process is guided by current state regulations and is implemented by the City of Laguna Beach. Please contact the City for specific details regarding the entitlements.