The Ranch gets OK for Scout Camp
The owner of a hotel and golf course in Aliso Canyon known as The Ranch at Laguna Beach has received approval from the city Planning Commission to offer overnight camping after the latest in a string of public hearings for a property that has faced its share of scrutiny and legal entanglements.
The commission unanimously agreed Wednesday night to grant a conditional use permit to Laguna Beach Golf & Bungalow Village for camping in an area known as the Scout Camp, at the northeast corner of the property at 31106 S. Coast Hwy.
The California Coastal Commission, in approving a hotel renovation project in January 2015, determined that camping, intended for youth groups, would be a way to compensate for what commissioners considered a loss of lower-cost visitor accommodations, stemming from the upgrading of the site.
The renovation project increased the number of available rooms from 64 to 97, while reconfiguring a restaurant and adding a spa and fitness center. Thirty-two rooms of the hotel, once known as the Aliso Creek Inn, were split in half to create double the rental spaces.
Camping is intended for youth groups of no more than 40 people per night at a minimum of 12 times per year. The Planning Commission’s approval also allows daytime events for a maximum of 150 guests. No more than 12 events, daytime or overnight camping, are allowed per month.
Some residents who live on the ridgeline overlooking the Ranch, with its nine-hole golf course amid a majestic canyon, opposed opening the Scout Camp to more events, fearing an increase in white tents that they consider a visual blight to the environment.
Resident Andreas Frank claimed the Ranch has left tents up for five days at a time instead of putting them away within two hours of the end of an event, or 10 p.m. at the latest, as the Coastal Commission required.
Mark Christy, principal investor in the Ranch, responded that staff has complied with the condition and also is cognizant of limiting noise and light emanating from the property.
“Breakdown is not so much that you are wiping everything clear of the facility,” Christy said. “It’s, effectively, that half an hour after sunset our people are not out there banging tables and chairs and potentially disturbing wildlife.”
Christy added that the number of tents should diminish with the opening of a ballroom where gatherings can be held.
During its meeting Wednesday, the Planning Commission found no fault with plans for changes to the types of windows and doors on the hotel buildings. Some of the work has already been done.
Architect Morris Skenderian told planners that the window and door alterations — including switching out a sliding window for a hinged-set of glass doors in the dining room — would enhance guests’ experience.
Seeking Planning Commission approval after work has been done is not unprecedented, Commissioner Ken Sadler said.
“This is a similar situation to what happened when I was on the Design Review Board,” Sadler said. “My approach would be pretend [work] had not been done. If I was looking at this and it was just being proposed, what would my feeling be? If the changes were not approvable, I would say so, and it would be back to the applicant to undo what they did.”
In this case, Sadler said the modifications are “minor” and “acceptable.”
Adding to the controversy that has dogged the project from the start, the Scout Camp and structural changes approved Wednesday were not part of the Planning Commission’s original approval of the project in May 2014.
Resident Mark Fudge appealed the Planning Commission’s approval to the Coastal Commission and ultimately sued the panel and the city. In a letter to the city last month, Fudge claims the Coastal Commission should not have issued a development permit until the city determined whether use of the Scout Camp complied with Laguna’s zoning code.
A environmental study pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act should have been prepared to analyze possible effects on surrounding habitat, Fudge said in his letter.
A trial date could be set later this month.
In December, Fudge appealed a Los Angeles Superior Court judge’s ruling that dismissed the portion of his lawsuit claiming the city approved the hotel renovation project without adequate environmental review.
Judge Richard Fruin said he dismissed that portion because Fudge did not file it in time. Appellate judges have yet to issue a ruling.
Twitter: @AldertonBryce
