An Enclave, but for Whom?

* With all due respect to Martha Padve (Letters, Aug. 22), I hope the Crystal Cove matter is not about maintaining the status quo for the current residents. I would hope the goal is to return Crystal Cove to the public.

Allowing the current tenants to remain is analogous to the same situation the state Parks and Recreation Department is attempting to create. It is supposed to be a public park, particularly the beach area.

The State Historical Commission is really stretching things to call the absolutely beautiful conclave anything but what it is right now, a semiprivate posh resort. A thousand dollars a month for a very small beach cottage, plus maintenance, is not affordable housing. And with a lease in perpetuity, we all should have such a deal.

I believe a public beach means just that. I think anyone that can make it should be given a chance at watching a sunset once in a while on a very nice stretch of beach called Crystal Cove.

BILL HENRIETTA

Huntington Beach

* I am one of the many who are most distressed to see state-owned lands at Crystal Cove turned into an enclave for the rich.

The Parks and Recreation Department should have followed the plan for low-cost overnight lodging as laid out in the 1991 agreement between the Coastal Commission and the department.

The wealthy continue to monopolize our coast; for example, the planned conversion of a mobile home park in Laguna Beach to a hotel and expensive houses for the well-to-do.

It would seem that funky Crystal Cove, of all places, would remain a place where persons of moderate means could spend time at a beach house. I am especially incensed by the proposed 55-year contract for this project and the secrecy under which it has been negotiated.

I hope the parks department will reconsider its present position.

PAUL F. CARLTON

San Clemente

* The proposed plans to develop Crystal Cove into a resort leave me baffled.

Swimming pools, a restaurant, dive shops and cute little boutiques will be added. For the price, $100 to $400 a day [for hotel and cottage rentals], who of us average Californians can afford to stay at this high-end resort?

It seems that the person with the most money wins here, not our average citizen. With so many elegant resorts already along our coast, do we really need another park for the rich and famous?

The state and the federal government have designated Crystal Cove a state historical district, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

By making the changes, the cove would no longer be a representation of the vernacular beach architecture that is. Can the state make these changes to an already designated historic landmark? I think not. Perhaps this is why the state chose to keep these plans under wraps.

Another point of interest is the fact that the present residents of the cove are paying rent for the cottages, which is income to the state. As landlord, the state does not offer any provisions for the upkeep of these structures, leaving all improvements and repairs at the cost to the renter. I believe there are laws against that. Are not landlords like this called slumlords? Perhaps the residents of Crystal Cove need to be informed of their rights; instead, these people are being evicted from their family homes.

RHEA SAX

Irvine