Marine memorial still debated

NEWPORT BEACH — How many monuments are too many?

A proposal to place a memorial to the city’s adopted Marine battalion at Castaways Park has set off a debate about what kind of monuments, and how many of them, should be allowed on city property.

At least, that’s what homeowners in the Castaways subdivision next to the park are asking.

So far the city doesn’t have an answer, because there’s no limit to the number of monuments allowed, and at least two parks are slated for additional statues.

The latest proposal for Castaways Park is a bronze statue commemorating the 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, a Camp Pendleton-based unit the city adopted in 2003. The City Council is scheduled to decide Tuesday on where to put the statue, and Councilman Keith Curry — the driving force behind the monument project — said Castaways is the best spot.

“I believe this is a case that, No. 1, will not significantly impede views [of homeowners] and, No. 2, I believe it’s something that the homeowners will ultimately be proud of, as will the entire community,” Curry said.

But board members of the 119-member Castaways Homeowners Assn. questioned the need for another monument in the park, where there are already at least a dozen trees with memorial plaques.

They worry about the impact to ocean views when the trees mature, and about what the formerly natural, undeveloped park is becoming.

Board secretary Steven Baugh said a bereaved family member regularly leaves items by one tree like the deceased’s sports jersey and piles of his favorite breakfast cereal.

“This is starting to become almost a cemetery, a memorial park, and I don’t think this is the appropriate location,” board member Tom Noya said.

The board took a unanimous vote Sept. 4 to oppose installation of the monument, but Noya and Baugh chose their words carefully. They don’t want people to think that because they question the Marine monument, they in any way oppose the military or don’t appreciate Marines’ sacrifices, they said.

“Our primary concern is when is it enough,” Baugh said. “The more monuments that are placed there, the more people visiting the park see them and think ‘That’s a great idea.’”

City policy allows people to purchase trees from the city’s catalog to be installed in a location approved by the general services director. The policy doesn’t put a limit on how many trees can go at a given location. The City Council has discretion over bigger memorials and the naming rights that come with large donations.

The Castaways homeowners’ board suggested the Marine memorial could go in Back Bay View Park, at East Coast Highway and Jamboree Road, but officials are considering that spot for a statue of John Wayne that may be brought down from Beverly Hills.

While Curry wants to move ahead with the Marine project in order to have the monument in place by next Memorial Day, other council members may want to slow down to consider their options.

“Certainly if the residents are opposed to it I’d want to know exactly why and get a better feel for what we’re talking about,” Mayor Steve Rosansky said. “I wouldn’t want to put it where it wasn’t welcome.”