Her battle is crystal clear

Paul Clinton

Feisty and outspoken, Jeannette Merrilees has constantly pushed for

unrestricted public access to Crystal Cove State Park.

The Laguna Beach activist, who has given dozens of tide pool tours at

the cove, has emerged as a leading proponent of a plan to transform the

funky, rustic cottages into affordable overnight rentals.

Merrilees, 71, has gone head to head with other environmentalists,

most notably influential heiress Joan Irvine Smith, in a growing debate

about how the district should ultimately be used.

California State Parks has begun accepting proposals from various

groups -- including a plan from Smith to use some of the cottages for

research, education or an interpretive center.

The state agency bought the land in 1979 from the Irvine Co. for $32.6

million.

“We didn’t buy the land for research,” Merrilees said during an

interview at the publicly owned beach. “People don’t come to Crystal Cove

to get educated. They come to play at the beach.”

Laura Davick, a cove activist who lived in the district, has thrown

her support behind Smith’s plan. Davick said she is worried intense

public use of the district could jeopardize its future.

“It is my opinion that a low-end overnight, without paying attention

to the fragile environmental resources, could be a real problem,” Davick

said.

For the past four years, Merrilees has been one of the most vocal

advocates of the removal of the former tenants of the historic district.

Her opinion was not widely shared among her peers, many of whom sided

with the former residents. Even now, a group calling itself the Crystal

Cove Community Trust has emerged to sue the state and force the return of

the residents to their former homes.

But with the residents now gone -- their final day at the cove was

July 8 -- the beach has gone from semiprivate community to wide-open

beach front.

“For years and years, people wouldn’t come down here,” Merrilees said.

“It’s really good to see people on this beach. There’s a lot more people

on this beach since [the residents] left.”

Growing up in the ample green stretches of western New York, Merrilees

said she has always valued parks and other public recreation areas.

In 1957, Merrilees and her husband, Ed, moved to California. They

eventually settled in Laguna Beach, where Merrilees involved herself in

local environmental causes.

She went back to law school, passing the state bar in 1980. After

retirement, Merrilees began volunteering to lead the tide pool tours.

Merrilees stumbled almost accidentally into the fiery Crystal Cove

debate. While attending a 1997 tour of the historic district with

developer Michael Freed, Merrilees began to speak out publicly against

Freed’s plan to put in an upscale resort.

Merrilees added her name to a growing chorus of dissent aimed at the

unpopular resort. Earlier this year, groups fighting the resort were

rewarded when the state paid Freed $2 million in a buyout offer.

As for the future of the cove, Merrilees said she hopes the state

continues to seek public input for any plans for the district.

“This belongs to us,” Merrilees said about Crystal Cove. “This is our

decision. We want the park to make every effort to involve the public.”

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

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

paul.clinton@latimes.comf7 .