Meeting set on cove future

Paul Clinton

CRYSTAL COVE -- California State Parks officials are hoping a public

meeting today will further refine a plan for the future of the 46

cottages here.

Members of the public will have the opportunity to comment on the

state’s evolving proposal to open the park to wider use.

“We’ve come up with a mix of public program ideas,” State Parks

spokesman Roy Stearns said. “Now let’s look at these ideas and rake them

over the coals and see what flies and what doesn’t.”

State Parks officials have tentatively said they hope to set aside

between 26 and 31 of the cottages for overnight vacation rentals, 10 to

13 for rangers and other state employees, four to six for educational

uses and one for concessions.

As the state sorts through the range of ideas for Crystal Cove, two

factions have emerged from the environmentalist camp -- one lobbying for

a low-cost rustic project highlighting overnight rentals, the other

urging the state to set aside a handful of cottages for educational and

scientific uses.

A group of Laguna Beach activists led by Jeannette Merrilees is urging

the state to stick to its 1982 general plan, which calls for all of the

cottages to be rented out as overnight rentals. State officials have said

the charge could be between $20 and $150 per night.

“We don’t think the plan needs changing,” Merrilees said. “We think

the plan needs to be implemented.”

A private nonprofit group raising money to pay for the restoration of

the cottages, which are listed on the National Register of Historic

Places, has called for an educational focus on the reuse.

The Crystal Cove Conservancy, founded by heiress Joan Irvine Smith and

former cove resident Laura Davick, has also raised about $60,000 to help

pay for the restoration of the funky, beachfront shacks.

“It is critical that we set aside some space so that people can get

educated about our environment,” Davick said. “If we’re trying to build a

hotel down there, I think it should be up to the people to determine.”

FYI

* WHAT: Public meeting about Crystal Cove State Park

* WHERE: Lincoln Elementary School, 3101 Pacific View Drive, Corona

del Mar

* WHEN: 7 to 10 p.m.