The Laguna Woods City Council will conduct a public hearing on the city’s general plan and zoning code update project on Wednesday, August 21, at 2 p.m. at Laguna Woods City Hall Council Chambers (24264 El Toro Road). Click the orange “Download PDF” button to view the Notice of Public Hearing.

Click here for more information and a link to the draft environmental impact report, proposed general plan elements and Laguna Woods zoning code amendments.

For additional information, contact the city at 949-639-0500 or planning@cityoflagunawoods.org, or visit city hall during normal working hours.

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Any Village resident looking to easily enter the community can do so with a vehicle RFID decal. With a decal, residents can simply pull up within two feet of any resident lane gate arm to trigger arm lift.

RFID decals cost only $25 per vehicle—and are valid for as long as you own that vehicle. The RFID program assists with access control, parking enforcement, contactless entry and reduced wait times. The one-time $25 fee covers annual maintenance costs for the access system, so it’s not being charged in monthly assessments. 

Secure your RFID by visiting Resident Services in the Community Center at 24351 El Toro Road with your valid vehicle registration.

Guests, visitors and residents without an RFID decal on their vehicles must use the guest lane for gate ambassador assistance.

For more information, email Resident Services at residentservices@vmsinc.org.

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Don’t miss the chance to get to know the candidates running for the United Mutual board of directors during the “Meet the Candidates” forum on Friday, August 23, in the Community Center board room (24351 El Toro Road) and on Village Television at 10:30 a.m.

The candidates:

• Maggie Blackwell
• Pardiss Broomand
• Marie Collins
• Jeanne Costello
• Alan Dickinson
• Anthony Liberatore
• Abbas Mohammadi
• Charles Prater

For full United Mutual election details, click here.

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On Wednesday, July 31, in the Community Center board room, Assemblymember Diane Dixon and Department of Financial Protection and Innovation Specialist Jackie Wylie hosted a town hall discussion and presented a Senior Scam Stoppers seminar, respectively.

If you missed this event, or attended and would like to rewatch it, please click here to watch it on the Village YouTube channel.

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We are thrilled to announce that the new Laguna Woods Village website is in its final phases and is set to launch tentatively early November. This comprehensive project is the result of a collaborative effort involving a GRF committee, resident feedback and testing, Village Management Services (VMS) staff, and our contractor, Urban Insight, who in its 24-year experience has planned, designed, developed and successfully launched more than 500 websites.

Key Features and Design Elements

During the design phase, Urban Insight and VMS worked diligently to identify essential functionalities and design elements tailored to meet the needs of residents, board members, realtors and staff. During this phase, Urban Insight created initial design “wireframes,” or navigation and design roadmaps, to align with the Village brand and resident expectations.

In the current development phase, the focus is on improving document handling, enhancing the search function and integrating single sign-on capabilities. The collaborative user testing effort with residents aims not only to enhance resident engagement but also increase operational transparency.

Impressive Content Migration

To date, a significant amount of content has been successfully migrated to the new website, including:

• Over 11,000 files and images
• Over 7,000 documents
• 720 news posts
• 745 club posts

Enhanced Search Functionality

One of the major improvements in the new website is the enhanced search function, which now includes:

• Autosuggestions as users enter queries
• Indexed and available documents for easy access
• The ability to customize results for specific queries

Improved Privacy and Security

Privacy and security have been a top priority in the development of the new website. Key improvements include:

• The ability to restrict documents and pages to residents only
• An easy-to-use login system based on the existing resident portal login

The design concepts were officially debuted to the Media and Communications Committee on July 15, showcasing the thoughtful and resident-centric approach taken in this project.

Training and Support

Urban Insight has been instrumental in providing training for content editors and webmasters via comprehensive documentation, instructional videos and training sessions to ensure a smooth transition to the new platform.

Final Steps

As we approach the final stages of this project, the focus will be on:

• Content entry and updating
• SEO implementation
• Final content migration to sync new and initial content
• Beta testing and user testing

We are eagerly anticipating the official site launch at the beginning of November. Post-launch, we will continue to provide support to ensure a seamless user experience.

Stay tuned for more updates as we get closer to unveiling the new and improved Laguna Woods Village website!

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If you have questions, feedback, or suggestions regarding common-use amenities or housing mutual operations, attending committee meetings is the best and most effective way to gain insight into Village governance and ensure your voice is heard.

Here’s how it works: All work concerning GRF, Third, and United begins at the committee level. Once the committees review and discuss policies, programs, and service levels, they make recommendations that are then presented for approval or denial at the board level. Village Management Services (VMS), your managing agent, is responsible for carrying out approved policies and service levels.

The Role of Committees

The boards of directors for the corporations (GRF, United Mutual, and Third Mutual) appoint members to various committees. These committees are tasked with reviewing policies, programs, and service levels, and then making recommendations to the boards.

Housing Mutual Committees focus on various aspects of housing mutual operations and include, but are not limited to landscaping, finance, maintenance and construction, and traffic. GRF Standing Committees focus on broader community aspects and include landscaping, finance, maintenance and construction, community activities, security and more.

By attending committee meetings, you can stay informed about the issues that matter most to you and actively participate in the decision-making process. It’s a great way to contribute to the community and ensure your concerns are addressed. So, mark your calendar for the next committee meeting and get involved in shaping the future of our Village!

Get Involved: How to Attend Board, Committee Meetings

If you’re interested in attending board and committee meetings to get more involved in our community, it’s easy to get started.

First, check out the schedule of meetings by visiting lagunawoodsvillage.com and navigating to the Calendars section (sometimes referred to as TeamUp).

When you find a meeting that interests you, simply click on it. A window will pop up with all the details you need: the meeting name, date, time, and location. You’ll also find important documents like the meeting agenda and agenda packet, plus links to Granicus and Zoom, which are excellent options for attending meetings virtually.

Granicus: How to Watch, Participate in Board, Committee Meetings

To watch board and committee meetings online, visit lagunawoodsvillage.com/meetings. Board meetings are also televised on TV6. Meetings are listed by date, with the most recent ones at the top.

• To watch a meeting and view agenda documents: Click “Video.”
• To view documents and backup materials: Click “Agenda.”
• To locate specific agenda items: Type keywords into the Search box.

Members are welcome to submit comments by emailing meeting@vmsinc.org any time before or during the meeting. Please include your name, unit number and the meeting you’re commenting on in the email subject field.

Keep in mind that meeting times are subject to change and ending times are approximate. You can view the full meetings schedule by visiting lagunawoodsvillage.com > Calendars > All Governance Boards Calendar.

Zoom: How to Watch, Participate Virtually via Zoom

Residents can join board and committee meetings live when they are held via Zoom. Other meetings, aside from board and committee sessions, may be conducted using GoToMeeting.

Why Zoom? Zoom allows you to:

• Virtually raise your hand
• Ask questions
• Speak to board and committee members in real-time

Additionally, Zoom automatically records and publishes board and committee meetings to lagunawoodsvillage.com/meetings (Granicus), making them available on demand.

To attend virtual board or committee meetings:

1. Find the Zoom link: Look for the Zoom meeting link in the Open Forum section of the respective board or committee agenda posted on lagunawoodsvillage.com > Calendars (sometimes referred to as TeamUp).
2. Launch Zoom: Click on the link a few minutes before the meeting to launch Zoom. Then, select “Open Zoom Meetings” and “Launch Meeting” when prompted.

No registration or password is required to attend.

If you wish to speak during the member comment agenda item, use the Raise Hand button on the Zoom screen. Participants are recognized in the order in which they raised their hand. The corporate secretary will then enable the member to speak.

So, mark your calendar for the next committee meeting and get involved in shaping the future of our Village!

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