Beachfront living at $100 per night

Paul Clinton

The majority of the park’s 46 beachfront cottages will be restored

and reopened to the public for “less than $100” per night beginning

in 2004, state parks officials announced Tuesday, unveiling

long-awaited plans for the historic area.

The cottages will retain the flavor from the time they were

occupied, before residents were evicted by the state in 2001, Parks

spokesman Roy Stearns said.

“We’re trying to preserve a sense of place,” Stearns said. “We’re

trying to preserve an experience like the one the residents had.”

For the more than seven decades since they were built in the 1930s

and ‘40s as summer vacation homes until last year, the cottages had

been leased out to private persons.

The announcement came as the Department of Parks and Recreation

released its environmental analysis of the $12-million project to

renovate the historic beachfront village.

Beginning in the summer of 2004, state parks officials hope to

begin offering 35 of the cottages as overnight rentals for the

public. Of those, 31 would be offered individuals and four would be

open to families for dormitory-style rentals.

Rustic and affordable, the rentals would be offered year-round for

reservations. They would be added to the approximately 15,000

campsites across the state.

Limits would be put in place to restrict the amount of time people

could use the cabins, Stearns said.

“There will be a limit,” Stearns said. “We have no intention of

having someone rent it for a long time.”

The remaining cottages will be used to house park operations

personnel, educational exhibits and presentations about the cove’s

history and heritage, as well as a concession stand.

Laura Davick, a former resident turned activist who pushed for an

interpretive center at the cove, said she supported the plan.

“It’s important to educate the park visitor,” Davick said. “State

Parks has done a good job of wanting to enhance the spirit of the

place.”

For activist and retired attorney Jeannette Merrilees, who has

lobbied the state to open the cottages to the public, questions still

remain about who will be given access to the interpretive cottages

and which groups will be given the keys to put on programs.

“I’m generally optimistic that State Parks has indicated that

they’re not going to allow exclusive use,” Merrilees said.

“Personally, I’m not going to celebrate until the plan is final.

There are some strings hanging out there.”

Members of the public can offer input on the plan until Dec. 2,

after which it heads to the State Parks Commission. A hearing is

expected sometime in February. Next, it would need to be approved by

the California Coastal Commission.

State planners hope to break ground on the project next summer so

a bulk of the cottages could be reopened to the public in the summer

of 2004.

The first phase of the plan calls for the $12-million restoration

of the core of the district’s historic village.

Several cottages that have fallen into disrepair are expected to

be “stabilized” and put on the back burner. Since the state has

funding for only the first round of restoration, some cottages would

be improved when money can be made available.

The remaining work likely will cost between $5 million and $10

million, Stearns said.

Funding for the first round of improvements comes from a

$9-million pot of funds from Proposition 40, the statewide resources

bond that passed in 2002. State Parks was also given $2.8 million

from the California Coastal Commission.

The plan represents a major shift from the state’s earlier plan to

build a luxury resort at Crystal Cove State Park with the help of a

private concessionaire.

Local environmentalists and other community leaders had criticized

the earlier proposal as a project that would restrict the public’s

access to land it owns. The state bought the 3.5-mile Crystal Cove

coastline and historic district from the Irvine Co. in 1979 for $32

million.

* PAUL CLINTON covers the environment and politics. He may be

reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at paul.clinton@latimes.com.