Crystal Cove takes on a new purpose under state control

Paul Clinton

CRYSTAL COVE -- Sunday was a day that made all the difference, at

least for those who lived in the cottages of Crystal Cove.

After tearful final moments, the cove dwellers left the homes that

they and their ancestors have occupied since the 1920s and 1930s.

They had agreed to leave the publicly owned land earlier this year

after receiving eviction notices from the California State Parks. It was

more than 20 years after the state first bought the 2.5-mile beach from

the Irvine Co. in 1979 for $32.6 million.

“These people have lived here for decades and did not leave it

easily,” said Roy Stearns, spokesman for the state agency. “That speaks

to their love and attachment to the place.”

The state pushed for their ouster so it could begin a detailed survey

of the infrastructure of their cottages. Parks officials have said they

needed to remove the residents to replace leaking sewer systems.

With the residents now gone, the agency has begun instituting its

Interim Protection Plan. The state will spend about $1 million to repair

leaking roofs, install weatherproofing and fix other parts of the

dwellings.

A new era for Crystal Cove began Monday, as state workers hauled off

dirt-streaked sofas, weather-beaten mattresses and other trash from the

cottages.

Laura Davick, who lived in one of the 46 cottages, accompanied state

rangers and other officials on a tour of the empty cabins. Davick founded

the Alliance to Rescue Crystal Cove to lobby the state to preserve the

dwellings.

Davick, 42, walked through the cottage she spent all but two years of

her life living in, accepting compliments from Stearns and others about

how neat she left it.

The same could not be said for others on the tour. Many looked freshly

abandoned -- with empty champagne and beer bottles left over from the

farewell festivities. In one cabin, books and magazines sat on

bookshelves. Yellowed copies of newspapers announcing the Moon landing,

in July of 1969, sat on a ratty couch.

In another cottage, the carpet reeked of urine. The weathered

wood-paneled walls breathed mildew into the air.

“We’re finding quite a bit more deterioration than we thought,”

Stearns said. “There are some places that are going to need some work.”

Stearns said the state is committed to protecting and preserving each

of the dwellings. But the future of the district will be decided via a

public review process that kicked off with a meeting on April 26. Another

meeting is set for August, though no date has been set.

The cottages are considered one of the few remaining examples of

“vernacular” beachfront architecture along the California coastline. They

were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

Some of those in the environmental community have urged the state to

reconsider its pledge to save every last cottage.

Nancy Gardner, president of the Newport Beach chapter of Surfrider,

has said the cove should be used as a low-cost campground with only a few

of the cottages preserved to remind the public about the cove’s history.

Gardner was also a vocal opponent of the state allowing the residents

to stay until the state crafted a plan for the historic district.

The Crystal Cove Community Trust, led by Bruce Hostetter, filed a

lawsuit July 3 that seeks to return the residents to their cottages.

“I am sympathetic to them,” Gardner said about the vacated residents.

“I just feel very strongly that it is inappropriateto have private leases

in a state park.”