Council Considers Cutting Park Hours

Acting on complaints from neighbors about late-night disturbances, the Laguna Beach City Council on Tuesday will consider closing Crescent Bay Point Park from midnight to 5 a.m. The small field of green at the edge of the ocean and surrounded by homes would be the first city park closed overnight.

The scenic park has long been a magnet to visitors, but over the past two years, residents say, there has seen a dramatic increase in the number of late-night visitors drinking alcohol, playing loud music, smoking marijuana and having sex in public view.

“We have never had a serious incident at that park,” Police Chief Neil J. Purcell said Friday. “But the potential for it is increasing.”

Crescent Bay Point Park is not the only city park where loiterers have upset residents.

Several violent incidents have been reported at the oceanfront Heisler Park in recent years, including a 1993 shooting that caused police to step up patrols in that area. And residents in the Top of the World neighborhood have complained of teens partying at Alta Laguna Park.

But Purcell said complaints to his department regarding other parks have diminished recently while calls from the Crescent Bay neighborhood have increased.

“It’s a beautiful park, it’s a beautiful setting,” he said. “And at nighttime, it’s very dark.”

In 1994, in an attempt to make the Laguna Beach coastline less attractive to troublemakers, the City Council imposed a 10 p.m. curfew for minors.

If the council decides to close the Crescent Bay park overnight, age won’t be a factor, Purcell said. “You can be 98 years old and it will affect you,” he said.