Crystal Cove activists raise concerns

Paul Clinton

CRYSTAL COVE -- A group of 10 environmentalists have raised a handful

of objections to the state’s handling of the state park.

In an open letter to California State Parks Director Rusty Areias, the

environmentalists urged the state to slow down its plans to renovate the

historic district.

“At this juncture, in order to ensure that the public process results

in a plan that is equal to the park’s unique abilities, we would like to

make you aware of some widely shared concerns,” the letter states.

The individuals who signed the letter, dated Tuesday, include heiress

Joan Irvine Smith, Orange County CoastKeeper Gary Brown, Defend the Bay

founder Bob Caustin, Orange Coast College professor Dennis Kelly and

Claudia Owen, the co-president of Stop Polluting Our Newport.

Laura Davick, who founded the Alliance to Rescue Crystal Cove, also

signed the letter.

State Parks spokesman Roy Stearns said the state had not received the

letter and couldn’t offer a detailed response to it.

“We have been working hard to get public involvement” into the issue,

Stearns said. “We had no inkling that all of these people felt this way.”

The state held a public forum earlier in the year to begin the process

of looking at the future use of the 46 historic cottages in the cove.

David Beckman, the National Resources Defense Council attorney who

drafted the letter, said he hoped it would not be misinterpreted.

“As this process has become uncorked, it has become unclear how it

will proceed,” Beckman said. “These issues aren’t difficult to resolve. I

don’t think the letter should be viewed as a call to arms.”

In the letter, the groups say the state hasn’t adequately involved the

public, has failed to look at the bigger picture or map out goals, and

has structured sessions that lack focus.

The state held a closed-door meeting July 19 with local

environmentalists, including many who signed the letter, to hear ideas

about how to proceed. State Parks officials said they would not allow the

former cove residents back into their homes and would work to preserve

all of the cottages.

The state started on a new track in March, when it finalized a

$2-million buyout of a San Francisco developer who had planned to build a

luxury resort at the cove.

The state had signed a secret contract with the developer in 1997,

giving him concessionaire’s rights for 60 years.

With such a history, Caustin said, the state needs to be watched to

avoid a similar mistake this time around.

“If you leave the state to their own devices, they have the propensity

to make mistakes . . . like the seven-figure buyout of the last fiasco,”

Caustin said. “We just want to make sure they do their homework. Don’t

rush to judgment.”

-- Paul Clinton covers the environment and John Wayne Airport. He may

be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail ato7

[email protected] .