Landowners, Building Foes Head to Battle on Two Fronts

Hoping to carve more public access and environmentally protected areas from a pair of controversial coastal resort projects, residents in two South County cities are expected to pack council chambers tonight to push for more open space and less development.

Members of the Laguna Beach and Dana Point city councils will have similar jobs before them: how to protect ocean views and beaches for the public while allowing landowners their right to build.

Owners of the former Treasure Island Mobile Home Park in Laguna Beach are asking to build a resort hotel and luxury homes on the beachfront land. Some residents have beseeched the city instead to purchase the land to build a conference center and arboretum.

Ten miles down the coast in Dana Point, council members will be asked to set aside land on the 122-acre Headlands property for a diverse set of uses, from a hotel-residential complex to space for a pocket mouse preserve.

“This is a significant point for us,” City Manager John B. Bahorski said, adding that this is the first time the council will see the actual uses that are being proposed. “It’s a gut check for the council.”

This month, the Dana Point Planning Commission recommended allowing 185 housing units and 70 acres of open space--a compromise between proposals from the landowners and a group of residents and environmentalists.

Council approval of the land-use plan tonight would allow development of a more specific proposal including such details as how many rooms should be allowed in the hotel.

The Headlands is owned by M.H. Sherman Co. and Chandis Acquisitions Corp., a subsidiary of Times Mirror Co., which publishes the Los Angeles Times.

Laguna Beach residents have tackled the Treasure Island developments on a number of fronts, among them the ever-present issue of views.

“The height of some of the structures is a big issue,” said City Manager Kenneth C. Frank.

Merrill Lynch Hubbard Inc., which bought the 30-acre site, has proposed 37 homes and a 100-room hotel, plus 25 luxury resort villas that can each be divided into three units.

Under the Merrill plan, public access would be limited to 6.3 acres of beach, a 1.2-acre bluff-top park and a trail to the park. Eight acres would be set aside for the hotel and the hotel-villa complex would encompass 10.6 acres.

A citizens’ group called Village Laguna wants to see the homes eliminated and the rest of the project to focus on the hotel resort, saying the residential development takes up too much acreage. The South Laguna Civic Assn. would prefer to see the city buy the property and convert it into a conference center and arboretum.

The Laguna Beach City Council will meet at 6 p.m. at City Hall, 505 Forest Ave. The meeting in Dana Point is at 6:30 p.m. in City Hall, 33282 Street of the Golden Lantern, Suite 210.