Council approves Heisler Park plan

Barbara Diamond

Heisler Park is crumbling before our very eyes and city officials

want to preserve what’s left -- even if they have to battle Mother

Nature.

“I don’t want to lose any of it,” said Mayor Cheryl Kinsman.

The City Council voted 4 to 0 Tuesday, Councilwoman Elizabeth

Pearson was absent, to approve most of what staff recommended to

preserve and renovate the park, based on consultants reports on

hydrology, geology and aesthetics, plus a few of its own ideas.

Councilman Wayne Baglin said he had a slight problem with a

consultant’s recommendation to make most of the park pathways a

uniform 10-feet wide, but he was “100%” opposed to creating a theme

for the unused Shuffleboard Court, which the Arts Commission has

coveted for years.

“Fantasy Land? Theme Land? Don’t need it,” Baglin said.

He had other recommendations, which the council majority readily

added to -- or subtracted from -- the package presented by

consultants.

“This is a conceptual master plan for the next 50 years,” said

Assistant City Manager John Pietig.

The council split only on the recommendation to build a “bulkhead”

to bolster the bluff at Rockpile Beach, which, eventually will

collapse, taking stairs and pathway with it, if action is not taken,

consultants said. It is being sabotaged by excessive groundwater

seepage, from irrigation and natural flows from areas behind the

park.

“People don’t understand the concern about a seawall,” said

Councilwoman Toni Iseman, the lone vote in opposition to the

bulkhead. “That is what the Surfriders call the armoring of the

coast.”

Seawalls reduce sediment brought onto beaches by wave action,

according to an Army Corps of Engineers study in 2002.

Surfrider Foundation spokesman Rick Wilson said approval of the

seawall was premature.

“We shouldn’t try to stop Mother Nature and the natural erosion,”

Wilson said. “We favor planned retreat.”

Planned retreat -- allowing for the natural erosion of the bluffs

-- would cost the five-acre park about 3,000 feet of Rockpile Beach

bluff and would require bridging to keep park paths contiguous.

Furthermore, consultants said, Rockpile Beach got its name for a

reason. There isn’t much sand there.

“The Community is really concerned about Heisler Park,” said

Surfrider member Chad Nelson. “It is a unique and beautiful place due

to its geology.”

He urged the council not to “overdo” the renovation.

“Heisler Park is my park,” said North Laguna resident Bette

Anderson. “I run or walk in it every day and I love it the way it is.

“Keep it natural. Keep it simple. Keep it safe. Anything we do

should be for preservation and safety, not for cosmetics.”

The concepts and council additions approved Tuesday still must go

through the California Environmental Quality Act process and be

reviewed by the California Coastal Commission.

The Coastal Conservancy awarded the city a $225,000 grant in 2002

to prepare plans for the preservation and renovation and the city

matched the grant for a total of $450,000. The city will apply for

grants to fund construction.

Staff urged approval of some specific proposals besides

recommending approval of the conceptual plan, with its increased

access for the disabled, some relocation of some features to protect

from a predatory nature, a better irrigation system, more native

planting and renovation of the park’s two restrooms in a Craftsman

style that reflects the city’s history.

Baglin said the two commissions recommended by staff for the

sub-committee had shown little sensitivity to nature. He proposed and

council approved a four-member sub-committee that included

representatives from the Arts Commission, the Recreation Commission,

Open Space Committee and Heritage Committee.

Baglin said he, like Iseman, had concerns about the bulkhead at

Rockpile.

“But if we don’t do something, we will lose it,” Baglin said. “I

can’t be in favor of any form of planned retreat, because of the park

loss.”

The council authorized the city manager to apply to the Coastal

Conservancy for a grant to fund the construction of the park

improvements.

Estimated total costs range from $4.9 million to $5.8 million. The

estimates will be revised when detailed working drawings are

completed.