LAGUNA BEACH : Compromise Plan Accepted for Park

After two years of debate and review, city officials have selected a compromise plan for a 10-acre park on the ridgeline at Top of the World.

“I think it was a good compromise,” Councilman Neil G. Fitzpatrick said Wednesday. “It will be tucked pretty well in and open space wraps all around it.”

The revised Alta Laguna park plan, to include a regulation-size baseball field and a six-court tennis facility, tot lot, parking, view sites and a trail around the outside, will be developed at the end of Alta Laguna Boulevard next to hundreds of acres of open space, Fitzpatrick said.

Originally conceived as a 15-acre facility with a soccer field on a five-acre, mini-park site and an adjacent 10 acres purchased by the city, the plan was scaled down to satisfy objections of environmentalists and Top of the World residents, despite pleas from parents and sports enthusiasts for a larger park.

Opponents of the park have questioned the need for the facility and expressed concern over loss of wetlands, the aesthetics of drainage devices, traffic and the loss of designated open space.

“The City Council simply ignored the wishes and desires of those most affected by the park,” said Robert May, a Top of the World resident. “People who live here on Alta Laguna wanted the park maintained on five acres and opposed any encroachment on the greenbelt and over-concentration of sports in one neighborhood.”

But Fitzpatrick said the decision was fair.

“The proponents gave a much stronger argument and obviously people who participate in sports didn’t get all that they wanted either,” he said. “The opponents came across as fairly selfish. I honestly believe the majority of people who are concerned about the park will enjoy it.

“The sun will still set up there.”