Crystal Cove Plans Limit Access, Critics Say

Plans for a $23-million resort at Crystal Cove State Park were roundly criticized Tuesday by some environmentalists who fear the resort will cater to the wealthy and curtail access to a publicly owned park.

But one of the project’s developers promises that the resort will be environmentally sensitive, suiting the beauty of the isolated, bluff-lined cove that is one of the most picturesque spots in Orange County.

The resort taking shape--with rates of $100 to $400 a night, a restaurant and up to three swimming pools--would be unprecedented in a state parks system that normally caters to tent campers rather than well-heeled resort clientele.

“That’s not a general public resort as far as I’m concerned. Therefore, I don’t think it has any place on public park land,” said Susan Jordan of the League for Coastal Protection, an environmental group.

“The rates are outrageous. The whole notion of the Coastal Act was to have equal coastal access,” said Darryl Young, chief consultant for the state Senate Natural Resources Committee.

But Kenneth Slaught, president of Santa Barbara-based Investec, one of the two companies that have formed a partnership to develop the resort, said it will not substantially change the nature of the colony of 46 rustic cottages that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

“You try to design a development that fits the site, that is really low impact,” Slaught said.

Investec and Resort Design Group are the two firms that make up Crystal Cove Preservation Partners, chosen by the state Department of Parks and Recreation in April 1996 to develop the project.

State officials have refused to release the resort proposal they accepted over two others 16 months ago.

But in interviews and correspondence with The Times, the parks department has confirmed it is in final negotiations for a 55-year contract--the longest in the parks system--for Crystal Cove Preservation Partners to develop and operate a resort in the park’s Historic District, where the cottages are located.

In a 1994 report to the Legislature, the project is described as a “boutique resort hotel” similar to the Post Ranch Inn and the Inn at Ventana, two well-known and pricey retreats in Big Sur.

Post Ranch Inn, where rooms go for $285 to $545 a night, is run by San Francisco-based Resort Design along with the Lodge at Skylonda, an exclusive spa south of San Francisco, and the Cousteau Fiji Islands Resort and Post Ranch Inn, Slaught said.

Details remain scarce about what exactly is planned for Crystal Cove, between Corona del Mar and Laguna Beach, but state officials say that most current cottages will be rehabilitated and some new cottages built. A total of 60 to 90 units are planned.

Slaught said the number of units could depend on how many of the cottages can be renovated.

“We are going to refurbish and restore some of what is there. Beyond that, I really can’t say,” he said.

He described Investec as an environmentally conscious developer, saying that in its Santa Barbara residential projects it strived to preserve native grasslands, animal habitats and coastal preserves. He said Investec sought out Resort Design for its expertise in hotel development in ecologically sensitive settings.

“Most people think you need to build more rooms and bigger rooms to make a profit. But you don’t. If you do it small, and do it right, it’s profitable, also,” Slaught said.

He said the state, not the developer, came up with the guidelines for the project, including the potential for swimming pools and a restaurant.

“There’s a part of the state that wants money and a part of the state that wants to preserve the coast and its historical structure,” he said. The parks system hopes to earn $1 million a year from the Crystal Cove project.

Some remain wary of a resort too expensive for most Californians, and some wonder why the state has been so close-mouthed about the project.

Bethany Knorr, consultant to the Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee, said she is concerned the proposal has not been made public. The committee will look into the matter to see “if there’s a way the committee can intercede on this and have some questions answered,” she said.

“Is the state providing adequate service for the recreationalists, or are we just going to privatize everything and price it out of the public’s range?” Knorr said.

But an aide to Assemblywoman Marilyn C. Brewer (R-Newport Beach) said Tuesday her office has not heard from anyone opposed to the state plan.

“In all honesty, it’s the state’s land, and they have the right to develop that land so long as it doesn’t negatively affect the community,” said Floreine Kahn, Brewer’s chief of staff.

In Orange County, environmentalist Elisabeth Brown said that the plan as described this week is different than what her group, Laguna Greenbelt, anticipated when it voiced support for rehabilitating the cottages for public use.

“We did not approve or support three swimming pools and 90 units and all that stuff,” said Brown, Laguna Greenbelt’s executive director. “It was supposed to be rehabilitation of a historic place, period, and that’s what we supported.”

Slaught said details of his firm’s agreement with the state is being finalized, and details will be made public in 30 to 60 days. He said public hearings and approvals could mean that construction will not begin for two more years.

The state chose the proposal in April 1996 over two others, one from commercial developers Sanderson-J. Ray Development in Irvine, the other from a group of Crystal Cove residents. The 55-year concession contract would be the longest in the state parks system, where most parks contracts run for less than 10 years.