Fate of Public Beach Trail in Gated Community to Be Weighed

The city has decided to take a closer look at whether to seal off or move a public trail that provides access to the beach for residents near Dana Hills High School.

The undeveloped path, which runs from Sea Canyon Park through the privately owned Monarch Beach neighborhood, provides public access to Dana Niguel Library, and Salt Creek Beach and Sea Terrace Community parks.

The public trail was created as a condition of approval for the development of Monarch Beach homes.

Now, some residents of the gated community of Monarch Beach are asking the city to close or move the trail because they want to build a recreation center on the 2.4-acre vacant parcel of land through which the path runs.

They believe that maintaining a public trail on the site would pose a security threat to their neighborhood.

“Right now, the only people who are using that trail are unescorted dogs, unsupervised children and people with motor bikes,” said Monarch Beach resident Pat Fairbanks. “We’re very concerned about vandalism.”

But many residents who use the trail disagree.

“As more people seem to be enjoying pleasure walking, it seems only right that the trail should be made available as it was originally intended,” resident Kevin Walshe said.

In reviewing the issue last week, the City Council decided to refer it to the Community Services Commission for further study. That will buy the city time while the Monarch Beach homeowners association conducts a poll to see how many members actually want the recreation center.