Wilderness Park Ideas Discussed at Workshop : Recreation: Suggestions on how to use the Laguna Canyon acreage range from where to put entrances to configurations for trails.

A group of about 60 residents concluded a three-day workshop Sunday after trading suggestions on how to develop the Laguna Canyon Wilderness Park.

Among the issues discussed was the location of park entrances and the configuration of hiking, biking and equestrian trails. Putting an art museum or art school at the northern end of the park also was suggested.

The group’s ideas will become part of a park plan to be put together by landscape engineers hired by Orange County to develop the vast unspoiled acreage, which reaches from the San Diego Freeway to Crystal Cove and from Bonita Canyon Road to Laguna Canyon Road.

“I think it was a very positive way to do it,” said Laguna Beach Mayor Ann Cristoph, one of the workshop participants.

Cristoph said the process, which involves representatives of a cross section of community interests, is designed to give the public a role in the park’s development.

Architects for the park will review the group’s recommendations to determine if there is agreement on how to deal with development issues. On issues with no consensus, the architects will make proposals.

The next step will be meetings in May and June to review the architects’ response to the recommendations, Cristoph said.