Parks officials dispute charge

Andrew Edwards

The state Parks Department is preparing to fire back at Assemblyman

Chuck DeVore, who last week logged conflict-of-interest charges

against a park employee who lives in one of the cove’s historic

cottages.

A draft letter prepared by the Parks Department to DeVore appears

to warn the assemblyman that revealing that Crystal Cove State Park

Supt. Ken Kramer lives at the park could be a violation of state law.

The letter comes in response to DeVore’s allegations that Kramer’s

living at Crystal Cove could pose a conflict of interest while Kramer

works to enforce the state’s decision to evict residents of El Morro

Village, a mobile-home park at Crystal Cove, which the Parks

Department wants to transform into a campground.

Kramer and State Parks spokesman Roy Stearns declined to discuss

specifics of the draft letter. Stearns said the Parks Department

planned to deliver an official response to DeVore today.

Stearns cautioned that language in the final letter could differ

substantially from the draft version, since, as of Monday, the letter

was still being fact checked.

“This is still being looked at by a number of people in our

headquarters,” Stearns said.

The draft letter did not specifically charge DeVore with violating

a part of the state’s penal code that makes it illegal to reveal

where peace officers live without their permission. The letter

instead asked DeVore to comply with the law, which was designed to

protect police and their families.

DeVore dismissed the idea that he could have violated the law last

week when he wrote letters to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Parks

Department Director Ruth Coleman that questioned the propriety of

allowing Kramer to live in a renovated Crystal Cove cottage.

“I naturally didn’t say particularly where he lives,” DeVore said.

The law makes it a misdemeanor to reveal a peace officer’s address

or telephone number without permission, and a violation becomes a

felony if the release of that information leads to the injury of a

peace officer or a member of an officer’s family. Kramer and other

California park rangers are peace officers with the same powers to

arrest as city police or sheriff’s deputies.

DeVore said he could not give out a specific address because he

does not have that information.

“I don’t know which cottage he lives in,” he said.

DeVore has submitted two bills to extend El Morro residents’

leases, with rent money being used to reduce the state’s deficit or

to fund park operations.

DeVore said he plans to introduce another piece of legislation

that would deal with the appropriateness of state employees living on

California facilities.

The bill would be a spot bill, DeVore said, which means he would

fill in the details after it is introduced and still meet today’s 5

p.m. deadline for new legislation.

“How does the state determine who gets free or dramatically

reduced housing?” DeVore asked.

Stearns said last week that Kramer and other employees living at

Crystal Cove pay $148 a month, plus taxes and utilities, to live at

the park. On Monday, Stearns compared the arrangement to a soldier

living in military housing or a firefighter living at a fire station,

since Kramer is on call 24 hours each day.

The Parks Department believes having Kramer live at the park saves

California $90,000 annually because the state doesn’t have to pay a

private security contractor. The public-use plan for Crystal Cove

allows for employees to live at five historic cottages, but DeVore

said the state could easily make up the cost of hiring security by

renting those cottages.

The Parks Department’s policy to allow park rangers to live on

park land is not only about saving money, Stearns said.

“This is a security decision; security is paramount,” he said.

Park rangers, Stearns said, are typically more highly trained than

outside security personnel, with training in police and lifeguard

skills, search and rescue and fire response.

If state rangers are a better choice, DeVore said he would prefer

they pay housing fees more in line with real estate market of the

surrounding area and receive a housing allowance.

“My response would make them pay to live there,” DeVore said.

* ANDREW EDWARDS covers business and the environment. He can be

reached at (714) 966-4624 or by e-mail at andrew.edwards

@latimes.com.