Local News in Brief : Laguna Beach : Cranston Gets 600 Letters to Save Canyon

U.S. Sen. Alan Cranston (D-Calif.) has received more than 600 letters urging legislation to convert the Laguna Canyon area into a national park, a spokesman for the senator said.

Cranston’s staff in Washington is studying the proposal, field representative Gil Saldana said. Cranston introduced similar legislation to convert the canyon into a national park in 1980, but the bill was defeated.

“At this point, the senator hasn’t determined if (the new park proposal is) feasible,” Saldana said last week.

The letter-writing campaign was started by the Laguna Canyon Conservancy, a group of Orange County residents opposed to development in the canyon. During the past year, the group has been trying to block the Irvine Co.’s planned 3,200-home project on 714 acres near Laguna Canyon Road and El Toro Road.

Land not used for development will be left as open space, company spokeswoman Judith Frutig said.

But members of the group want the entire 3,000 acres left untouched.

“We are looking for ways to save the canyon, and this is a different direction,” Conservancy Chairman Richard S. Harris said. “I don’t care what kind of park it is, just as long as the canyon doesn’t get developed.”

Last April, the group offered to buy about 3,000 acres of canyon land owned by the Irvine Co. But a company spokesman said the group’s $10-million offer was far below market value.