CUP 2026-0066, The Seahorse Lounge

The project CUP 2026-0066, The Seahorse Lounge, at 1796 S Coast Highway in Laguna Beach, California, is a historic preservation initiative that authorizes a 75% reduction in required parking spaces—from 24 to 8—for an existing commercial property to facilitate the adaptive reuse of the building as a coffee shop, retail store, and tavern within the C-1 Local Business District. This reduction is granted under California’s Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) through categorical exemptions Class 1 and Class 31, which apply to existing facilities and the rehabilitation of historical resources, respectively. The project must adhere to the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties to ensure the structural and aesthetic integrity of the historic building is preserved during renovation. A Notice of Exemption has been filed and posted with the Orange County Clerk-Recorder’s Office as part of mandatory environmental compliance, accompanied by a $50 documentary handling fee. The applicant, Garry Ledesma, and the lead agency, the City of Laguna Beach, are responsible for ensuring adherence to these conditions, with no federal procurement or contract structure involved. The process is administrative and local in nature, with no mention of federal acquisition regulations, contract line items, pricing, payment systems, or delivery schedules. All activities center on conditional use approval, historic conservation, and CEQA compliance, executed through paper-based submissions to city and county offices rather than through formal federal contracting mechanisms.