BRIEFLY IN THE NEWS

-- Paul Clinton

A state hearing has been scheduled in January to update the public on

development plans for Crystal Cove.

At the meeting, to be held Jan. 18, the state Department of Parks and

Recreation will brief community members about the resort plan under

consideration.

San Francisco-based Passport Resorts has proposed a $35-million luxury

resort for the historic district, a plan environmental groups have lined

up to oppose.

Passport, which formed Crystal Cove Preservation Partners to build the

resort, signed a contract with the state in 1996 to oversee the

construction and operation of the project.

The district’s 46 cottages, placed on the National Register of

Historic Places in 1979, would be renovated as a part of any plan.

Passport must get approval from state parks and the California Coastal

Commission before the resort may go forward.

No decision will be made at the Jan. 18 meeting. Parks department

officials probably will vote on the plan in the spring.

The informational meeting will be held at 7 p.m. at Lincoln Elementary

School, 3101 Pacific View Drive, Corona del Mar.