In a park, how natural is natural?

June Casagrande

It’s only about 2 1/2 acres, but it could nonetheless become a major

battleground. That piece of Castaways Park, 17 acres of elevated open

space at the corner of Coast Highway and Dover Drive, will soon come

back into the spotlight. And with it, no doubt, will come

disagreement.

Most people who have weighed in on the matter so far agree that

the bulk of the park -- at least 14 acres of it -- should be left in

a natural state. But they disagree about what’s “natural” and, even

more passionately, they disagree about what should be done with the

remaining 2 1/2 acres.

Some say that the uppermost portion of the park should be covered

with turf grass where families can picnic and children can play.

Others say that undermines a process begun nearly four years ago to

restore the entire area to its natural condition, and that the turf

plan could even threaten the city’s eligibility for grant money.

The Parks, Beaches and Recreation Commission has ruled that turf

grass should be part of the plan there. A City Council study session

scheduled for Aug. 12 could reaffirm that decision or turn it on its

head.

“I think there are going to be at least three different factions,”

City Manager Homer Bludau said. “It’s not going to be an easy issue.”

The original restoration plan is estimated to cost about $230,000.

A $99,600 grant from the California Coastal Conservancy and a $50,000

grant from the Nature Conservancy would fund most of the project,

with city capital improvement funds covering the roughly $75,000

difference.

But there’s a catch that City Councilman Don Webb said might not

be the best deal for the city.

“The Coastal Conservancy’s grant says that the city has to

maintain it in that natural state for 20 years or give them their

money back,” he said. “But they don’t provide the money for that

maintenance. ... The Parks, Beaches and Recreation Commission pointed

out that that ties up the land for 20 years, and who knows what the

city might want five or 10 years from now.”

Environmentalist activist Allan Beek said he hopes the conservancy

can be persuaded to cut that 20 years down to five or 10, but so far,

there’s no indication they will budge. Beek has suggested developing

a much smaller portion of the park with turf grass and leaving the

highest areas covered with meadow grasses and wildflowers.

Newport Height resident Margit Motta supports using only native

plants there, but said she would support a compromise such as Beek’s.

“I would like to have the natural California flora and fauna that

would bring butterflies and other native things,” Motta said. “The

problem with turf grass plan is that there isn’t much flat area up

there and the area they’re talking about is quite large and smack in

the middle of the park.”

City staffers had offered another compromise: using species of

grass native to California, but that could be maintained as short

grass amenable to picnicking and other activities. This would have

added another $25,000 to the cost. Commissioners unanimously shot

down this idea in favor of the kinds of turf grass found at other

city parks.

* JUNE CASAGRANDE covers Newport Beach and John Wayne Airport. She

may be reached at (949) 574-4232 or by e-mail at

june.casagrande@latimes.com.