Crystal Cove critics have new proposal

Alex Coolman

A coalition of environmental groups is working to develop an alternative

to the resort hotel project proposed for Crystal Cove State Park, a

representative of the coalition said.

Laura Davick, founder of The Alliance to Rescue Crystal Cove, said the

group is in the process of fleshing out a proposal that could contest the

project currently being planned by Crystal Cove Preservation Partners, a

partnership between a resort developer and the state.

The point of the new effort, coalition members say, is to come up with an

idea that will be more environmentally sensitive and more conducive to

beach access than the proposal currently under consideration.

Crystal Cove Preservation Partners’ plan, which has been in development

since 1995, calls for more than $20 million in construction along the

secluded beach, which is home to 46 ramshackle cottages.

The cottages would be renovated and available for overnight stays, and a

new 100-seat restaurant and “environmental interpretive center” would be

built on the parkland, which is listed on the National Register of

Historic Places.

The development plan has been a major source of controversy among Crystal

Cove residents and environmental activists in Newport Beach and Laguna

Beach for the past five years.

“They’re trying to posh it up,” said Chris Bradley, an architect working

with the alliance, of Crystal Cove Preservation Partners’ plan. “It’s not

going to be the rustic, California beach community that we’re trying to

preserve.”

The group, which includes members of Orange County Coastkeeper, the

League for Coastal Protection and the Laguna Beach City Council, met last

week at Laguna Beach City Hall to produce tentative ideas for their

proposal and solicit community input.

Another outreach effort will be held Saturday at the “Vision Laguna”

event in Laguna Beach.

Specific details of the alternative plan are sketchy. Organizers say the

proposals are changing based on community input.

While the plan initially leaned toward the creation of a sort of

“cultural center” at Crystal Cove, Davick says the plan has evolved into

something more like an “environmental center” that would be available to

student researchers and members of the public.

Though Michael Freed, managing partner of Crystal Cove Preservation

Partners, said he is interested in talking with the environmental groups

about their concerns, he strongly disagreed with the contention that his

company’s development would fail to provide public access to the park.

“Public access is exactly what [our] project is all about,” he said.

Bob Cates, chief of the environmental design division of the state

Department of Parks and Recreation, said he had not heard anything about

alternate proposals for Crystal Cove. Moreover, Cates noted, the

department was expecting to receive final plans from Crystal Cove

Preservation Partners “within the next week.”

When that happens, Cates said, the department will begin holding public

meetings before the project goes to the state Parks and Recreation

Commission for final approval. The California Coastal Commission would

also have to sign off on the plan before the resort could be built, he

added.

Before that happens, Davick says her group hopes to bring an alternative

voice into the debate.

“This is by no means a done deal,” she said.