LAGUNA BEACH : Measures Sought to Halt Park Vandalism

City officials say vandals have repeatedly marred a scenic hilltop park, driving cars on the grass, breaking beer bottles on tennis courts and uprooting fledgling trees.

In response, they will ask the City Council tonight to approve several measures aimed at discouraging vandals, including installing a street light at the main entrance of Alta Laguna Park in the Top of the World neighborhood.

A memo to council members says police have arrested several people for destroying park property. Adding the light will allow better police surveillance and will “discourage antisocial activities,” the memo says.

“The kids have been going up there for a long time,” Laguna Beach Police Sgt. Lance Ishmael said. “With the area being as dark as it is in the park, it just affords people the opportunity to get away with more.”

Ishmael said police are patrolling the park more frequently and have issued numerous citations for alcohol consumption.

Municipal Services Director Terry Brandt said the vandalism will probably decline when more homes are built around the park, which is currently surrounded mostly by open space.

“It attracts these kinds of problems until other homes are built or until people develop a system whereby they call us when they hear of problems and we’re able to respond to them more readily,” he said.

Brandt said the city receives few complaints from residents. Instead, the damage is usually discovered by maintenance workers, he said. Brandt was unable to estimate how much damage has been done since the 3.5-acre park opened last summer.

City staff is also requesting that the park’s parking lot be locked on weekend evenings and that an existing fence be extended at the front of the park to keep cars off the grass.