COUNTYWIDE : Supervisors OK Largest County Park

The Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to create Orange County’s largest regional park, a 10,000-acre crescent that will wrap partway around Laguna Beach, protecting environmentally sensitive land from development while opening new trails and wilderness areas.

Supervisor Thomas F. Riley, whose district includes the new Coast Greenbelt Regional Park, and who helped secure approval of the deal, called Tuesday’s action a “landmark agreement,” hailing it as a breakthrough for the county and its residents.

“I’ve spent about 17 years as a county supervisor, and this has to rank among the greatest accomplishments I’ve seen,” Riley said after the board meeting. “Saving this open space is going to be a significant benefit to the people and wildlife of Orange County.”

Although a few issues remain to be settled, the board’s action paves the way for a strip of parkland to wrap around Laguna Beach, protecting that seaside community from development on all sides. It also commits the county to paying $10 million toward the $78-million purchase price of Laguna Laurel, a 2,150-acre parcel that was once slated for an Irvine Co. residential community.

“We’ve been trying to do this for about 20 years, create a Laguna Greenbelt,” said Kenneth C. Frank, city manager of Laguna Beach. “We still have to raise the money for the rest of the payments for Laguna Laurel, but this is a big step.”

An Irvine Co. representative agreed, calling the action “a very important step for the county. Needless to say,” said Carol Hoffman, a company vice president, “we’re delighted.”

The Coastal Greenbelt Regional Park will combine county and Laguna Beach land in a preserve of more than 10,000 acres. The park could later grow to more than 15,000 acres if other areas agree to join. The new park will be bordered on the south by Aliso/Wood Canyons Regional Park and on the north by Crystal Cove State Park, cobbling together several immense parcels into a breathtaking collection of open space in South County.

Although the whole park will not be open to the public for years, parts could be unveiled within a year or so, according to Brown and Robert G. Fisher, director of the Harbors, Beaches and Parks Department. Brown said early visits may be guided tours intended to show off the land without exposing it to damage.

The county will pony up $2.5 million this week to begin buying its share of the Laguna Laurel parcel, the cornerstone of the entire property.

The new park will include some of the county’s most spectacular coastline views, as one of the parcels climbs steeply up the coastal hills north of Laguna Beach. Trails will extend for miles across stretches of the land, officials said.

Plants and animals that need habitat space will be more easily protected in one large park than in several small ones because managers will be able to set aside large amounts of land to buffer them from park visitors, officials said.

The county’s share will come from its park acquisition fund. Laguna Beach passed a $20-million bond issue last year for the purchase and some state park bond money also is being made available.

The city and a private foundation still need to raise about $30 million to complete the purchase of Laguna Laurel over the coming five years.

“We’ve still got a lot of work to do,” said Elisabeth Brown, president of the Laguna Greenbelt. “But we’re only short $30 million. That’s a lot better than $78 million, which is where we used to be.”