Rangers to have more clout

June Casagrande

There’s a new sheriff in town. Well, not exactly, but two recent

additions to the city team now have some added power to punish

abusers of local parks.

The City Council on Tuesday approved a plan to give the city’s two

park rangers the power to hand out citations for some offenses. The

tickets they dole out could be simple “administrative citations,”

which serve as formal warnings. Or, in more extreme cases, they could

carry fines of $100 for a first offense or up to $500 for repeat

offenses.

But the city wants park rangers to have this power only as backup.

Their main job will continue to be working toward the friendliest

possible solutions when park users are acting out of bounds.

“The main reason they’re out there is to educate people about

proper use of the parks,” said Andrea McGuire of the city’s

Recreation and Senior Services Department.

Some of the most common problems at parks occur when a group that

has reserved space on a playing field arrives and finds that another

group is already playing there and refuses to cede the space to the

reservation holder.

The park ranger program was approved last summer on a trial basis.

Local youth sports teams came out in support of the program last

year in order to deal with this problem. Some youth sports

organizations agreed to pay hourly fees to use playing fields to fund

the program. The fees are expected to raise about $20,000 of the cost

of the two patrol people.

Increases in fees for special-event permits and for renting

facilities such as clubhouses have been levied to cover the

difference in the program, which is estimated to cost about $48,000.

“I’m confident our rangers have the ability and maturity to use

discretion in issuing citations,” Corona del Mar resident Robert

Walchli said. “They should have the ability to back up their

education efforts with enforcement.”

* 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.