How old is the Main Beach boardwalk? The structure dates to 1973. The boards underfoot are much newer. Most of the decking between the tall lifeguard tower and the sand was replaced in 2008 with pressure-treated Douglas fir, and those boards are now due to be replaced.
Laguna Beach plans to replace about 2,045 boards along roughly 1,200 linear feet of the walk, along with the access stairs. The city has not chosen the material. The Planning Commission prefers Douglas fir again. Some members of the City Council want something that lasts longer. Each option sets the date of the next replacement, and that date affects everyone who walks the boardwalk.
The "Traditional" Look Dates to 2008
Much of the debate is about keeping the boardwalk's character. Its history shows that character has already changed once.
- 1973. The boardwalk is built with Kapur decking, a tropical hardwood, according to Stu News Laguna. The Laguna Beach Independent spells the original wood "Capo," but both outlets describe it as a tropical hardwood.
- 2008. Most of the decking is replaced with pressure-treated Douglas fir.
- September 16, 2026. City staff present four replacement woods to the Planning Commission at a concept review. Most commissioners favor Douglas fir.
- October 13, 2026. The City Council votes 5-0 to have Mayor Mark Orgill and Councilmember Bob Whalen work with staff on choosing the material. The vote also directs staff to look into a design-build approach.
- 2028. Whalen would like the project finished before the Los Angeles Olympic Games.
The dates also give a useful comparison. The original hardwood lasted about 35 years before most of it came out in 2008. The Douglas fir that replaced it has been down for 18 years, and Whalen noted at the October meeting that it has been deteriorating for several years. The rustic look the commission wants to protect is the newer of the boardwalk's two looks.
Each Wood Sets a Different Replacement Schedule
The September 16 Planning Commission staff report compares the four candidates. Its figures come from local and regional lumber suppliers and from manufacturer literature. The report gives prices only as relative bands. Detailed unit and total cost estimates will come during final design.
| Material | Anticipated service life | Price band | Main drawbacks cited by staff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pressure-treated Douglas fir | 15–30 years | Low | Softer; prone to abrasion, dents, checking, splintering and warping; needs more maintenance and replacement |
| Ipe | 40–75+ years | High | Heavy and hard to cut; requires pre-drilling; possible longer lead times; sourcing must be verified |
| Balata, also called bulletwood | 30–50+ years | Medium | Supply in 3" x 8" boards must be confirmed; heavy; requires pre-drilling; sourcing and cost concerns |
| Accoya | 50+ years | Medium | Large 3" x 8" custom sections may be hard to get; possible longer procurement time and higher cost |
A quick calculation shows what is at stake. The current fir went down in 2008. If the city installs fir again around the 2028 target, the staff report's 15-to-30-year range puts the next full replacement somewhere between the early 2040s and the late 2050s. Accoya's 50-plus-year estimate pushes that past 2078. Ipe's range runs from the late 2060s into the next century.
The Independent's account of the October meeting quotes Capital Improvement Program Manager Pierre Sawaya giving a slightly shorter range for Douglas fir, 15 to 25 years. Sawaya noted that fir costs little up front but needs more maintenance and more frequent replacement than the alternatives.
Looks matter too. The staff report describes Ipe as brown wood that can weather to a silver-gray. It describes Douglas fir as the option whose appearance stays closest to the boardwalk people know now.
Why the Commission Favored Fir
The commission's reasons were practical, and they say a lot about how this boardwalk is maintained. Stu News Laguna reported after the September hearing that commissioners saw Douglas fir as easier to work with. It can be cut and tapered, it is lighter, and it allows simpler fastening. Replacing a single damaged board would also be easier and cheaper. On a deck where boards get swapped one at a time, that matters every year, well before the next full replacement.
Sawaya added another point in the Independent's coverage: "the Douglas Fir works very well within the existing framing system, which is not being proposed to be replaced." The project keeps the boardwalk's current alignment, dimensions and structure. Only the decking changes.
Character carried the most weight. Stu News reported that commissioners worried a hardwood would be a "fundamental change in character" and would lose the charm of the current boardwalk. Some also questioned whether tropical hardwoods are sustainable, since they are not native to the United States and must be shipped from overseas. Commissioners still had concerns that the softer wood wears faster and develops uneven surfaces.
Why the Council Kept the Question Open
At the October 13 meeting, Whalen questioned using the same wood again. Stu News Laguna quoted him:
"It doesn't make any sense to me in terms of a useful life. I don't think that's a good solution going forward."
Councilmember Sue Kempf asked whether the material would hold up against the high surf that has been reaching Laguna Beach and nearby coastal towns. The Independent reported Sawaya's answer: the treated wood is designed for marine exposure, hardwoods would "likely" hold up better over time, and there are trade-offs in maintenance and cost.
Mayor Pro Tem Hallie Jones set a sustainability limit on the options. "I'm not interested in exploring anything that is not sustainable," she said, according to Stu News, adding that she wants "a natural wood product."
That limit matches what staff had already found about non-wood options. Acting Public Works Director Tom Perez said staff looked at synthetic and plastic decking made to resemble wood. Staff worried that sand and foot traffic could wear those surfaces too smooth, and that they could get hot in direct sun for barefoot beachgoers. Some thinner products would also require changes to the substructure. Staff considered stamped concrete with a wood-grain finish, but Perez said it would be extremely expensive and would essentially mean rebuilding the entire boardwalk.
That leaves a short list. All four woods are natural. The fir is the cheapest and the easiest to replace board by board. Ipe and balata are tropical hardwoods with long lifespans and open sourcing questions. Accoya is a modified softwood with the longest minimum lifespan on the list, though large custom sizes may be hard to get. Two council members now have the job of balancing those factors.
What Has Been Decided, and What Hasn't
The scope is set. The new decking would run from Marine Safety Headquarters to Laguna Avenue at 307 S. Coast Highway, and construction would be phased to keep pedestrian access open whenever possible. The staff report says final design will work out staging, phasing, detours and any temporary closures of individual segments, with the goal of keeping Main Beach Park open to pedestrians as much as feasible.
Several things are still undecided:
- Approval. The October 13 staff report asked the Council for input only. It authorized no construction and had no fiscal impact. Environmental review under CEQA will come before any later approval.
- Money. The city's adopted FY 2026–27 budget lists project C2701, "Main Beach Boardwalk Replacement," at $100,000 from the Capital Improvement Fund for this fiscal year. The capital program formally funds only its first year. Later years are planned but not appropriated. The $100,000 is this year's allocation, not the project's total cost.
- Dates. No construction start or finish date has been set. Perez said finishing before the 2028 Olympics looked feasible. No date has been announced for the subcommittee to report back.
For now, the busy work downtown is on the streets, not the boardwalk. Through mid-December, crews are replacing sidewalks, patching roadway and applying slurry seal on Forest Avenue, Beach Street, Ocean Avenue, Park Avenue, Broadway Place and several nearby streets, weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Patch reported from the city's announcement. The boardwalk decision will come later. Whichever wood the subcommittee picks will set how long the next deck lasts.
Team Laguna has followed Main Beach through the original hardwood deck, the 2008 replacement and decades of smaller repairs in between. If you would like to talk about how projects like this affect the blocks around Main Beach, we are glad to hear from you. Contact Us.
