Creek restoration plan presented

Barbara Diamond

Experts said Tuesday that time, cooperation and money -- lots of

money -- will be needed to restore Laguna Canyon Creek to anywhere

near its full potential and natural beauty.

“We estimate $1.5 million for the whole project, but it can be

done in phases,” said city consultant Michelle Mattson of Aspen

Environmental Group.

Mattson laid out the results of a creek study commissioned by the

city and made recommendations at a meeting on Tuesday night at City

Hall. About 17 residents attended.

“This is a conceptual plan,” said Craig Justice, city senior

water-quality analyst. “There are a lot of ifs. We need a more

detailed plan and to decide what makes sense from a cost-effective

standpoint.”

It’s not just a matter of grading the creek banks or planting a

few oak or sycamore trees. The creek crosses public and private land

and is under several different jurisdictions.

The study area stretches from the Aliso/Wood canyons preserve on

the corner of El Toro and Laguna Canyon roads to the Bark Park,

divided into seven “reaches” on the inland side of Laguna Canyon Road

and one “off-site” project area across the road.

Reach 1 is the Aliso/Wood canyons preserve at the intersection of

El Toro and Laguna Canyon roads. Reach 2 is the Annaliese’s School

grounds. Reach 3 is the city-owned DeWitt property. Next is Reach 4,

the Sun Valley Neighborhood.

The off-site study area, which has streams that flood the highway,

is opposite Reaches 3 and 4. A swale would reduce the flooding,

consultant Mattson said.

However, the property is an Irvine Co. easement to the county and

is believed to be specifically and only for the widening of Laguna

Canyon Road.

The Canyon Club and U-Haul properties are included in Reach 5.

Reach 6 contains the privately owned Coastal Kennel and the

city-owned properties that house the Laguna Beach Animal Shelter and

the Friends of the Sea Lions Marine Mammal Center. Reach 7 is the

Bark Park and the Verizon parking lot.

“I am a Reach 4 resident, and I want it right now,” Olivia

Batchelder said. “I am saddened to see only two others here beside

myself who are residents. Some are resistant. It is important for the

city to take this study and do something so people can see that it

will work.”

Mattson said that Reaches 1, 3, 6 and 7 have the highest potential

based on the goals of the study.

“The DeWitt property would give the most bang for the buck,”

Mattson said. “The stream is shallow. There is a floodplain. We could

remove the exotic [non-native] plants and remove fill dumped by the

church in the 1960s.”

The Bark Park, in Reach 7, would be the least costly phase and

would show the community that restoration works, Mattson said. It has

no development. It’s big and flat and conducive to a classic

restoration, using photographs as a guide.

Clean Water Now! founder Roger von Butow said flood control could

be incorporated in the project by digging up the grounds and putting

in a subterranean retention basin.

Justice said reconfiguring the dog park is a good idea; however,

flood control was not one of the original goals of the study,

although Laguna Canyon residents would certainly like to see it

included in the project.

Goals of the study included habitat restoration, aesthetics and

beautification, public education, community participation and

pollution prevention.

“The long-term goals will take time and political will,” Justice

said.

That doesn’t preclude starting small volunteer restoration

projects, he said.