635-Home Development Near Crystal Cove Park OKd

The California Coastal Commission on Thursday unanimously approved a 635-home project above pristine Crystal Cove State Park, the Irvine Co.’s last major coastal development.

After more than five hours of technical presentations, emotional testimony and surprisingly little debate, the commissioners added a laundry list of water quality conditions before voting 10 to 0 to allow the 980-acre project between Corona del Mar and Laguna Beach to proceed.

Emotions ran the gamut on the long-contested project.

“Their unanimous approval, which did come as a surprise, reflects the commission’s confidence in the plan,” said Gary Hunt, executive vice president of the Irvine Co. “I was very pleased.”

But California Resources Secretary Mary Nichols, a nonvoting commissioner who attended Thursday, said, “There’s an undertone of sadness, especially among those of us from Southern California, simply because of the fact that we’re looking at this stretch of coast that is now becoming developed except for a bit of park there. . . . It’s hard not to feel sadness.”

Garry Brown of Orange County CoastKeeper said, “It’s mixed emotions. We’re still going to see [more than] 600 homes up there. At least there’s a lot more coastal protection. It’s a much better project than it was a year ago.”

The project was halted in October after regulators with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service questioned its potential effect on wildlife and water quality. They noted that urban runoff from the homes would drain across state park beaches, into ocean recognized as a dolphin-birthing ground and “area of special biological significance.” The state commission decided to further scrutinize the project.

The project, debated Thursday at the commission meeting at the Waterfront Hilton, would be part of a 2,600-home development. Orange County planners initially approved the project in 1998.

In the last 10 months, the Irvine Co. staff has drastically altered the original plans.

The conclusion came after months of conflict. Environmental organizations, including the Orange County CoastKeeper, the League for Coastal Protection and the Alliance to Rescue Crystal Cove, won several key concessions from the Newport Beach-based developer, including treatment of runoff from not only the new development, but also previously approved residential tracts near the park.

Commissioners also required monitoring for any illegal flows, improved ocean and creek testing, and third-party monitoring of runoff measures during construction.

“It’s been a year in the making and we’re very pleased with the way the project has been conditioned,” said Susan Jordan, board member with the League for Coastal Protection.

But Jordan and others cautioned that they will scrutinize the development to make sure the promises are carried out.

Brown of CoastKeeper said that he was still concerned that the cost of maintenance and upkeep of structural improvements, such as filters in storm drains, will be transferred to a homeowners association once the developer sells the homes.

“Ten to 15 years from now, the homeowners association is going to be more concerned with the patio furniture at the swimming pool than their control of the [structural fixes] or even caring what they are,” Brown said.

CoastKeeper attorney Kimberly Lewand said that although she was happy with improvements, she remained concerned about the runoff from the massive development and she wasn’t convinced that it would all be treated, as the developer claimed.