Laguna Beach / Coastal Orange County
Fitness in Laguna Beach is local and small-format. The operators we confirmed are The Art of Fitness at 1080 South Coast Highway in the HIP District, Laguna Beach Yoga in Suite 203 at 312 Broadway downtown, and Laguna Beach Dojo upstairs at 1100 South Coast Highway. The national boutique brands we checked place their nearest studios in Laguna Niguel (F45 on Golden Lantern, solidcore on Aliso Creek Road and Club Pilates on Town Center Drive), and Club Pilates, YogaSix and StretchLab have no Laguna Beach page. The dojo's second-story space matches the C-1 rule that dance schools and studios sit above the ground floor, while LBP is the one zone where a health club is permitted without a conditional use permit.
Population
22,710
Median HHI
$143,843
Median age
53.9
Homeownership
66.1%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Primary retail corridors
Pacific Coast Highway · Forest Avenue · Broadway Street · Laguna Canyon Road · Glenneyre Street
Specific shopping centers in Laguna Beach that already carry credible co-tenancy for this use. Listed in approximate order of fit.
South Coast Highway between Thalia Street and Diamond Street
Anchors / key tenants: art galleries, independent dining, coffee, boutiques
Just-under-one-mile strip with 26 art galleries, 17 restaurants, and several independent coffee shops with outdoor seating. The artisan-and-gallery node of Laguna retail. Tenants include Stephanos jewelry.
Forest Avenue at North Coast Highway
Anchors / key tenants: walkable historic downtown art, dining, and boutique retail
The cultural and visitor core. Art galleries, chef-driven restaurants, surf/lifestyle, and specialty boutiques cluster on Forest, Ocean, and the lower blocks of North Coast Highway. Strong year-round visitor traffic and an affluent local resident base.
Existing operators are the most honest comp for whether a use can support Laguna Beach rents. These are publicly visible fitness space businesses currently trading in the market.
The Art of Fitness
1080 S Coast Hwy, Laguna Beach, CA 92651
Full-service gym on the HIP District merchant list (classes, training, sauna and plunge, day passes). Its own site describes weights, cardio and ocean views, with yoga, barre, mat pilates and spin classes, and 20-plus years in business.
Laguna Beach Yoga + Fair Trade
312 Broadway, Ste 203, Laguna Beach, CA 92651
Locally owned yoga studio with a fair-trade boutique and yoga teacher training, per its own site. On Broadway in the downtown core.
Laguna Beach Dojo
1100 South Coast Highway #301c, Laguna Beach, CA 92651
Karate and tai chi for kids and adults. Its site places it at South Coast Highway and Oak Street, directly above Gina's Pizza and Oak Restaurant.
01
Permit path by zone: 'Health clubs' are permitted in LBP when conducted entirely within an enclosed building (Section 25.18.002(G)) and need a CUP in C-N (25.19.006(E)) and South Laguna Village (25.25.006(K)), where the City weighs the existing balance of resident-serving uses. C-1 does not list health clubs; 'Recreation facilities, all' need a CUP there (25.20.006(L)). The Planning Commission reviews every CUP (25.05.030(E)).
02
Instruction studios in C-1: musical, theatrical and dancing schools and 'studios' need a CUP, must be located above the ground floor, and cannot exceed 50 percent of the building's gross floor area (Section 25.20.006(S)(5) and (12)). A yoga, pilates or martial arts school looking at a C-1 street-level storefront should ask Planning early which label applies.
03
Parking is the biggest cost. Section 25.52.012(G) sets health clubs, exercise rooms and aerobics studios at 1 space per 100 sq ft plus any other uses, dance schools and studios at 1 per 100, and a commercial pool at 1 per 100 sq ft of water surface with a 10-space minimum, compared with 1 per 250 for retail. A 2,000 sq ft studio replacing a shop goes from 8 required spaces to 20, and the difference must be built or covered with in-lieu certificates (25.52.004(E)).
04
In-lieu certificates: Section 25.52.006(E) allows three per site without a parking demand study, never more than 50 percent (rounded up) of one use's required spaces, and a coastal development permit is required. For the 20-space studio above, at most 10 spaces could be covered by certificates.
05
Suite size and splits: LBP parcels cannot be merged for development beyond 10,000 sq ft (Section 25.18.008(A)), and dividing an existing commercial building into more than three additional tenant spaces, or any space under 500 sq ft, needs a CUP and possibly an engineered parking impact assessment (25.52.012(A)). Larger gym formats will have trouble finding a legal floor plate.
06
Downtown and industrial sites: downtown parcels follow the Downtown Specific Plan's own rules (Section 25.40.030). In the M-1A light industrial zone, 'country clubs or recreation facilities, all' need a CUP (25.32.003(A)), which is the only other path we found for a larger training or climbing space.
Zoning, licensing, and demographic figures on this page come from the public records below. Codes and licenses change, so confirm with the city and the licensing agency before you sign.