Resort Plan for Laguna Gets a Boost

The California Coastal Commission’s staff recommended Thursday that the agency approve a controversial luxury resort and residential project on one of the last relatively undeveloped seaside stretches in Laguna Beach--with 10 conditions.

The powerful state agency, which has derailed projects up and down the California coast, will decide the fate of Treasure Island--a 275-room hotel, 17 homes and 14 condominiums planned on about 30 acres in south Laguna Beach--at a June 14 public hearing in Santa Barbara.

The Laguna Beach City Council approved the $150-million project in February. Orange County CoastKeeper, the South Laguna Civic Assn., Village Laguna and two individuals appealed the council’s approval to the commission.

In their challenge, activists say the project would violate local and state coastal laws because it would alter natural bluff contours, would be inconsistent with local character, would not offer lower-cost recreational facilities and does not include plans to deal with added urban runoff that would drain into an already contaminated offshore area.

Commission staff members agreed that the project warrants further scrutiny, primarily on two issues: bluff-top development and water quality.

Some activists said the staff’s recommendation falls short.

“I’m disappointed they didn’t address the basic design concerns and deficiencies,” said Ann Christoph, a Village Laguna board member and former Laguna Beach mayor.

Christoph said she was dismayed by the staff’s finding that the massive grading work planned is consistent with the area’s state-certified local coastal program, even though there is much more cutting and filling than originally proposed. “It reflects that the overall project is too dense for the site--they’re trying to get too many things in there,” she said.

Attempts to reach officials from the developer, Athens Group, after hours were unsuccessful.

The staff recommended that the Phoenix-based developer comply with 10 special conditions before the commission issues a coastal development permit. They are:

* Setback of all development at least 45 feet from the top of the existing or graded bluff top.

* Relocation of bluff-top access if the development is threatened by waves, erosion, storms or other natural hazards.

* Prohibition of any future shoreline installations, such as sea walls.

* Acknowledgment that the site could be damaged by natural hazards, such as waves and erosion, and that the developer assumes liability for any risk.

* Development of a resource management plan to protect the fragile offshore ecosystem and nomination of the city-designated reserve as a State Marine Managed Area.

* Year-round diversion of runoff from the development and 60 acres above the site to a waste water treatment plant.

* Delegation of an authority to deal with storm water, sewer, diversion and sediment systems.

* Development of a monitoring plan that would analyze the effects of storm water on the marine reserve for five years.

* Inclusion of 10 measures that would deal with landscape, urban and trash runoff in the project’s water quality management plan.

* Delegation of Laguna Beach being responsible for ensuring that the developer complies with all conditions the city required before it approved the project.