Council says no to toll road

Laguna officials join in opposition to roadway through San Onofre State Beach.About 125 opponents of a proposed toll road through San Onofre State Beach jammed the City Council chamber Tuesday night to seek the support of Laguna Beach officials.

They could have stayed home.

In a straw vote taken before public testimony was heard, four hands at the dais shot up in favor of a formal declaration of opposition to the proposed toll road that threatens one of California’s premier surfing beaches and parkland. Mayor Elizabeth Pearson-Schneider recused herself because of her husband’s professional involvement in the matter.

“I put out a petition at the high school today and got 40 signatures,” said Marshall Thomas, president of the Laguna Beach High School Surfriders Club. “If I had gotten it out earlier, I would have gotten hundreds, because everyone cares.”

The agenda item went beyond opposing just the toll road in question. The council’s resolution says that all state parks should be protected from toll roads or other highways.

“Toll roads have a special place in my heart,” said Councilwoman Toni Iseman, who put the item on agenda.

Iseman, a former member of the California Coastal Commission, was an active opponent of the San Joaquin Hills toll road that cuts through Laguna Canyon. She papered Laguna Canyon Road with Burma Shave-type signs condemning the project.

San Onofre, like the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, is threatened by development.

“A six-lane highway will impact the camping grounds and pollute Trestles surf beach,” said Richard Rozzelle said, acting district superintendent for state parks.

Elisabeth Brown, Laguna Greenbelt Inc.’s president, was cheered by the public outcry against the project.

“In 1999-2000, we discovered over 40 projects through state parks,” Brown said. “You are not just stopping a road here, you are keeping state parks intact.”

Marnie Magda urged everyone in the audience to write letters to state officials in Sacramento opposing the road.

“We need to stop building roads and start building railways,” Councilwoman Cheryl Kinsman said.

Iseman said one of the most egregious flaws in the toll road proposal is the noncompetitive clause, which prohibits improvement along the route until toll road use reaches a certain level “near gridlock.”

In the case of the San Joaquin Hills toll road, use was overestimated and the road has never been fully utilized, opponents said.

“Hopefully, this room [the council chamber] is full of future activists,” said Iseman, directing her attention to the young people in the audience.

“San Onofre is the most beautiful place in the world, and I don’t want anyone to spoil it,” Councilwoman Jane Egly said.