LAGUNA BEACH : City OKs Temporary Usage Plan for Park

A temporary plan that could allow supervised hiking in newly acquired parkland at the edge of the city by October was endorsed Tuesday by the City Council.

The council also ignored last-minute pleas that cattle be allowed to graze on the parkland. Environmentalists persuaded the city that the longtime policy of allowing cows to roam Laguna Canyon must be stopped so the land can return to its natural state.

“I’m a painter, and artists are very fond of cows as a subject,” resident Patricia Turnier said, adding with a flourish, “Please do not cast our cows away.”

The plan for the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, which must still be approved by the county, will temporarily govern activities on 3,000 acres of open space now owned by the city, county and state. The park is expected to eventually expand to at least 15,000 acres as other chunks of undeveloped land are added to it, making it the county’s largest wilderness park.

The new plan will allow limited public access to the parcel while a permanent plan for the land is being prepared, a process that will take at least two years. In creating the temporary plan, the goal was to allow people to enjoy the park but to control access while the area’s natural resources are being documented.

Under the plan, various sections of the park will be open one day each weekend for docent-led hiking tours. The open areas will rotate so that people can explore different parts of the wilderness area.

“The public, I think, has been very anxious to get out on the property,” said Rob Clark, Laguna Beach’s deputy city manager. “The best thing is that they’ll get a chance to do that and see what we’ve acquired.”

Over the next year, county staff will study the possibility of future docent-led bicycle and horse tours on the land.

The cows, however, are not likely to get a reprieve, as environmentalists say their constant munching damages the land and keeps other animals away.

Although he joined his colleagues in the 4-0 vote on the plan (Councilwoman Martha Collison was absent), Councilman Neil G. Fitzpatrick expressed some reservations about the removal of the cattle and the fact that bicyclists, equestrians and others will have to wait longer to use some areas of the park.

“When we asked for support to buy the parkland area, we were making all kinds of appeals and got all kinds of people involved in it,” Fitzpatrick said. “Some like to hike, some like to ride their bikes, some like the cows.”

“I’d hate to think the park was only available to licensed biologists wearing sensible shoes,” he said.