At El Morro, making way for the beach-going public

After sitting empty for more than six months, the mobile homes of the former El Morro Village at Crystal Cove State Park are being removed, beginning the process of turning the property into a state beach.

The salvage operation taking place on the coastline side is expected to be completed by today.

The remainder of the mobile-home park is expected to be removed by Sept. 13.

To clear away the trailers, a private contractor was hired by the state.

Some of the trailers are being sold to private mobile-home-park owners in Southern California, and some are being moved out of the country, said Steven Wuo, owner of Wuo Investments, the private contractor hired by the state.

“All the trailers are many different years and models,” he said. “Some of them meet conditions outside the country that aren’t met here.”

But the remainder of the trailers are too damaged to be moved anywhere.

“Half of them can’t be used, so they have to be demolished,” Wuo said.

The demolition of the trailers is being handled by a separate, private demolition company hired by the state.

Once the trailers are removed, a new demolition process on the rest of the grounds will follow, said Richard Rozzelle, South Coast District superintendent of state parks.

This process involves removing asphalt, concrete, debris and the remaining office and maintenance buildings on the premises.

With the demolition complete, the state will be looking to award a contract for the construction of the park in spring 2007, Rozzelle said.

“That [demolition] gets us to a point where we can open the campground and the day-use facilities like restrooms and parking,” Rozzelle said.

The second phase of construction involves more natural elements of the park, such as creek restoration, native plant restoration and creating the picnic facilities.

“We’re just excited to get to a point where we can get the public in,” Rozzelle said. “Everyone wants to get a chance to use their new park.”

The state park is expected to be complete by mid-2009.