LAGUNA BEACH : Supervisors OK Smithcliffs Project

Despite a host of environmental, traffic and other concerns raised by the city of Laguna Beach, county supervisors Wednesday approved a 26-home coastal development to be built on that city’s northern border.

The development, known as Smithcliffs, is expected to destroy a monarch butterfly roosting area and will force removal of a stand of mature trees. But the board unanimously backed the positions of its staff and Planning Commission, both of which recommended the project, provided certain conditions intended to mitigate the project’s negative impacts are met.

Debate over the project has raged for months--through five Planning Commission hearings, as well as reviews by other county agencies and the Board of Supervisors.

It also has divided residents, with representatives of the Emerald Bay Community Assn. appearing Wednesday to speak in favor of the project even as Laguna Beach residents rose to oppose it.

Laguna Beach has been particularly vociferous in its objections, and officials were on hand Wednesday to urge the supervisors to reject the plan.

“This project grades the entire site and takes out virtually every tree on the entire site,” said Kenneth C. Frank, city manager of Laguna Beach. “We would respectfully request that the board deny the permit.”

In particular, city officials cited traffic and coastal access concerns, as well as a fear that destruction of trees on the 10.4-acre property would strip migrating monarch butterflies of an important roosting area. City officials also worry about the project’s impact on local services, since the city’s police, fire and paramedic crews will have the job of responding to emergencies in the new community.

County planning staff, however, urged the supervisors to go ahead, saying that the project had been thoroughly reviewed and that the objections had already been answered.

“We believe the issues raised by the appellant are not substantive issues,” said Tom Mathews, the county planning director. “The project site can be developed sensitively.”

Because the project sits in an unincorporated area, approval by the County Board of Supervisors was its last hurdle, though opponents could also challenge the development in court.

Later Wednesday, the Local Agency Formation Commission turned down a request by Laguna Beach to include the parcel in its sphere of influence, a move that would have given the city greater control over its development.