State sets Crystal Cove eviction date

S.J. Cahn

CRYSTAL COVE -- Residents of the state park’s historic cottages will

get one more Fourth of July by the ocean.

But under an agreement announced Tuesday, those living in the 46

state-owned cottages will have to be out by July 8.

The deal came after two or three meetings and a series of phone calls,

said California State Parks spokesman Roy Stearns.

“I think this is pretty well set in stone,” Stearns said. “The

residents have agreed to it.”

Residents are expected to sign the agreement within the next week,

said cove resident Doug Falzetti, who declined to comment further, saying

the state had asked residents not to talk with the media.

The deal was worked out among officials from the Department of Parks

and Recreation and the Office of Historic Preservation, cove resident

John Killen, and the residents’ attorney, Deborah Rosenthal.

The cove’s cottages were placed on the National Register

of Historic Places in 1979.

Killen could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Stearns said a main concern among residents was the 30-day eviction

notice they received last month and, while the state is in a hurry to

begin a state-mandated investigation into possible pollution at the cove,

officials wanted to be as accommodating as possible.

And, Stearns said, he was told residents wanted to celebrate one last

Fourth of July.

The agreement includes three main components:

* the July 8 date for residents to vacate the cottages, which allows

for no more extensions;

* residents agreement to cooperate with state efforts to determine

whether there are sewage leaks in the cove, in particular in the

cottages’ septic system;

* an end to the residents’ lawsuit against the state to block the

evictions.

Stearns said the state wants to begin its investigation into the

possible leaks as quickly as possible. The Santa Ana Regional Water

Quality Control Board has cited the septic tanks as a potential source of

waste-water pollution into the cove and demanded the state come up with a

solution within two years.

He added that the state is intent on opening the park to the public

while maintaining its historic feel. He acknowledged that the

preservation might not mean every cottage is saved, but he said the state

wants to include the cottages’ residents in those efforts.

“We’re going to look to residents to put together the history,”

Stearns said.

A bitter battle over the future of Crystal Cove erupted in recent

months as environmentalists and residents successfully fought state plans

to build a $35-million luxury resort there.

That proposal has been shelved, and now the various environmental

groups have turned their attention to alternative plans and ensuring that

state discussions of the cove’s future are done in public meetings.