READERS RESPOND -- Readers pose Crystal Cove solutions

Your Nov. 3 article regarding California State Parks and Crystal Cove

was interesting and instructive (“Money crunch affects cottages”). I, for

one, am glad that our local elected official, Assemblyman John Campbell,

is paying attention to the cost of the project.

It would seem that the people at California State Parks obviously are

not. In spite of the fact that Gov. Gray Davis has asked for a 15% budget

reduction by all departments, Parks Director Rusty Areias is going to

find the money. If he does so, it will obviously mean projects must be

delayed or canceled. It might be interesting to all of the citizens of

California to be told which projects will be affected.

More importantly, we should observe that State Parks just seems to be

obsessed with the notion of evicting the residents of Crystal Cove and El

Morro Village. That obsession has led to a series of bad ideas from them,

including the premature eviction of Crystal Cove residents, plans to

build a transient RV park adjacent to the El Morro school and spurning

the millions of dollars paid to State Parks by the residents of El Morro

Village. State Parks has repeatedly used the buzzwords “public access” in

order to gain public support for these bad ideas.

The residents of El Morro Village are also interested in the public

having access to the beach and parklands. Indeed, El Morro Village has

attempted to work with State Parks to improve public access to the beach

while still keeping the park and their homes intact. State Parks,

however, seems to be on a mission to kill its own cash cow (the millions

the residents are paying in rent) and to thrust a multitude of families

into an already overcrowded and highly inflated housing market. All this

in the middle of a recession.

What could be more irresponsible? Isn’t it time for the people at

State Parks to understand that they are public servants with safety and

fiscal responsibilities? Hopefully, there are like-minded members of the

Legislature, such as Campbell, that can halt the State Parks steamroller

so that reasonable and responsible solutions can be achieved.

JANICE FAUST

Laguna Beach

It is time to tear down the Crystal Cove cottages. For the state to

even consider spending $12 million to $20 million to restore them is

absurd. By the time these shanties are brought up to fire and building

codes and meet Americans with Disability Act requirements, they will not

resemble the historical cottages they repute to be. With a diminishing

state budget, any money that becomes available should benefit Crystal

Cove State Park as a whole.

For those members of the public who have not visited the cottages

recently, I suggest you take a trip to the cove. If you choose to visit

the cove, you will not find a quaint seaside village, but a shanty town

complete with leaking septic tanks. Of the 46 shanties, fewer than a

dozen are habitable. These shanties are built out of everything

imaginable in every way imaginable. There are rooms with 6-foot ceilings

and 18-inch doorways.

Electrical wiring and outlets run exposed and overloaded. The

plumbing, if you can call it that, dates back to the Roman Empire. Some

fixtures drain into outside yards. The septic tanks leak into the creek

that empties into the ocean. Let’s not fail to mention these rundown

dumps are infested with rodents and bugs.

If you think that $12 million to $20 million sounds high to restore

these cottages, consider that not one of them meets current fire,

building, or health and safety codes. Not to mention ADA requirements.

For these shacks to ever be used as commercial accommodations, major

improvements will have to be made.

In the alternative, the cottages can be simply removed and the cove

restored to a more natural state. Improvements can be made with a goal of

lessening the environmental impact. Any available funds should be used to

improve beach access, public facilities and public safety in the park.

As for those concerned with the historical significance of the

cottages themselves, several could be relocated to the trailer park at

Coast Highway and the Santa Ana River, where they would fit in nicely.

Crystal Cove should become the public gateway to the park that its

name adorns.

BRENT JACOBSEN

Newport Beach

Assemblyman John Campbell is correct. We can have our cake and eat it

too. Since there’s no money to reconstruct and maintain our cottages at

Crystal Cove, give me one really good reason not to use El Morro to

finance this project?

We’re not giving up ownership of the land; we are just taking a

pragmatic approach to managing our resources. Let’s face it, the campers

in the proposed transient RV park at El Morro are not going to fix and

maintain the cottages. And which is more important right now, campsites

or cottages?

JEANETTE MILLER

Laguna Beach