South County : Coast Panel OKs Work at Crystal Cove Park

Plans for maintenance buildings and paved parking lots at Crystal Cove State Park have been approved by the California Coastal Commission.

Construction is scheduled to begin March 18 and be completed a year later, according to Alan Tang, landscape architect for the state Parks and Recreation Department.

In all, the second phase of the project is estimated to cost $3.24 million, Tang said. Plans call for three 60-space lots on the bluffs overlooking the ocean, he said, along with day-use picnic areas, a paved bicycle path and eight restroom stations.

The park currently has three parking lots with a total of 810 spaces.

Also planned are a 3,000-square-foot administration building, two storage buildings, and a fuel island and vehicle service area. The buildings will be built adjacent to a proposed equestrian staging area on the inland side of Pacific Coast Highway, Liz Fuchs, coastal analyst for the commission, said.

In approving the plan, the Coastal Commission also reduced the size of an entrance road at Pelican Hills. The commission staff had proposed a four-lane road narrowing to two lanes, Fuchs said. Instead, the commission approved a three-lane road.