Last Free Parking on PCH Is an Endangered Species

An 800-foot-long patch of dirt beside Pacific Coast Highway has become the focus of a controversy involving the state, wealthy homeowners and hundreds of people who use the dusty area as a parking lot from which to reach the beach and Crystal Cove State Park.

Park officials and the homeowners of Irvine Cove argue that the parking poses a safety hazard, invites people to illegally enter state property and defaces the landscaping of million-dollar homes. Instead of parking there, they say, recreation seekers should be forced to drive a quarter-mile down the road, pay $6 to park in a state lot and then walk to the beach.

To hordes of weekend fun-seekers, the small bit of turf on the road’s shoulder carries a special significance--it’s the last piece of PCH between Emerald Bay and Corona del Mar where people can park free. And, indeed, some Laguna Beach city officials say they are extremely reluctant to eliminate what they see as the vestige of the way things used to be all along the coast.

“I feel very distressed by the fact that we’re slowly taking away all of the free parking on Coast Highway,” said Melanie Bachman, chairwoman of the city’s Parking, Traffic and Circulation Committee, which advises the City Council on such matters. “People used to be able to come and park and enjoy a bike ride for free; now, almost everywhere, there’s either no parking or you have to pay.”

Parking along the stretch of highway opposite Abalone Point near the city’s northern boundary has been discussed on and off for at least five years, according to Bachman. But about two months ago, she said, the issue heated up when a group representing homeowners at Irvine Cove--a housing development facing the parking area where homes sell for upward of $1 million--requested that signs be posted prohibiting parking.

“Cars run over the sprinkler heads and damage the landscaping,” said Tom Merrell, a consultant hired by the Irvine Cove Homeowners Assn. to lobby for the no-parking signs. “There’s also an issue of security; there have been some break-ins.”

The homeowners’ efforts are supported by officials of the adjacent Crystal Cove State Park, who say that the free parking gives people a place to leave their cars while climbing a nearby fence to enter the park illegally, or, worse, crossing PCH to reach the beach by hazarding 60-m.p.h. traffic.

“It’s very unsafe,” Michael Eaton, the park’s supervising ranger. Those who hop the fence to avoid paying the park’s $6 admission fee are not only depriving the state of much-needed revenue, but making it impossible for state officials to properly do their jobs, Eaton said. “It impacts public safety and our ability to manage this resource during times of park closure.”

Both Eaton and Merrell recently presented their cases before Bachman’s traffic committee, which agreed to study the issue by informally surveying people who park on the strip before making a recommendation within two months.

“We’re going to try to research it,” said Terry Brandt, the city’s director of municipal services. “What we’re trying to figure out is how people are actually using it.”

During a recent weekday, most motorists stopping on the dusty stretch of highway seemed to be doing so to check out a 1984 gold Honda Accord parked there with a sign advertising it for sale at $1,650.

“People used to park all up and down here,” recalled John Venlet, the retired owner of an architectural firm who said he was thinking of buying the car for a granddaughter in her 20s. Vacationing here from Georgia after moving away five years ago, Venlet said he was disturbed by some of the changes he’s seen.

Venlet’s wife, Chris, shared his sentiments. “I think there should be someplace for people to park without having to pay,” she said. “At least some of God’s world ought to be left free.”

Outdoor enthusiasts parking on the stretch Saturday said the $6 fee at Crystal Cove State Park is overpriced, and suggested that city officials should compromise by charging less or installing parking meters.

Marc Guerra, 24, of Fullerton takes advantage of the free parking space once every two weeks to jog through Crystal Cove State Park. Guerra said he wouldn’t mind paying a dollar or two to use the sprawling seaside route, but $6 “for an hour is not reasonable.”

“The lot is empty most of the time anyway, so obviously I’m not the only one who thinks it’s too expensive to park there,” he said. “There’s definitely a need for affordable public parking in this area.”

Guerra and others disagree with landowners who argue that those who park along the dirt path trample on their sprinklers and plants. The space between the road and the private properties is wide enough so that pedestrians don’t have to set foot on the flower beds, Guerra said.

“Just look, how can you say that’s unsightly?” said Guerra, pointing to the landscape behind his car.

Joe Lewis, 30, of Huntington Beach bikes in El Moro Canyon about twice a month and said he would go elsewhere rather than pay the $6 fee to park a quarter-mile away. Lewis acknowledged that PCH is a dangerous highway to cross, but that’s his decision to make, he said, not city officials’.