Retaining Public Access to Scenic Park : * Laguna Niguel Homeowners Shouldn’t Turn Parking Area Into Private Preserve

The debate over public safety versus public access has been much in the news as coastal cities have sought to retain the option of enforcing curfews on beaches. But in Laguna Niguel, the conflict has a different cast. The Orange County Environmental Management Agency is seeking to preserve access to a scenic park that is accessible only by a private road where wealthy homeowners have painted curbs red and put up no-parking signs.

Who’s right? This is one of those prevailing cases where tilting on the side of access seems most appropriate, especially in view of the history of the private development. The homeowners say that the signs are a way of preserving access to emergency vehicles, and they argue that people really don’t have to walk very far anyway from the north entrance of the street to the entrance of the park. The county says that reasonable access to the scenic park, Badlands Park, can be made only through the road and that putting up the prohibitions effectively bars the public’s access to the park.

The courts now will have to sort out the debate in a lawsuit filed by the county. Orange County officials have sought a permanent injunction against the Monarch Point Homeowners Assn. No settlement appears imminent, although parties are to meet again soon. The case may well go to court.

Even though the public can walk to the park, it’s hard to argue with the merits of the county’s case, as it is grounded in the very spirit of the California Coastal Act. The developer of the site recognized this basic condition when the homes were built in 1988 and agreed to remove signs and the paint from the curb to receive a coastal development permit. In 1992, county officials discovered that the paint and no-parking signs had reappeared.

To preserve access, homeowners next to a public waterfront park should not be able to make a private preserve of nearby parking areas.