Community weighs in on Aliso project

Supporters and opponents of a preliminary plan for the development of the Aliso Creek Golf Course property had their say Tuesday night.

The City Council held an unprecedented special meeting to allow community members a chance to voice their opinion of a proposed Aliso Creek Area Redevelopment Plan for property owned by Athens Group in South Laguna, still at the starting gate of the approval process.

“It was extraordinary,” Community Development Director John Montgomery said.

Public comment on projects usually comes in scoping sessions, after a draft environmental report is prepared and at subsequent public hearings.

The council, which took no action Tuesday, scheduled Tuesday’s meeting at the request of Arnold Hano on behalf of Village Laguna, an activist group.

Hano submitted the request during a presentation at the Aug. 7 meeting of the group’s notions of how the Athens Group property should be developed. Athens Group was invited by the council to participate in the special meeting.

“Village Laguna believes that the overall goal of our planning efforts should be to preserve the serenity and beauty of the canyon and make it accessible to all in a manner that does not compromise the resource,” Anne Caen said in August and again Tuesday.

South Laguna Civic Assn. members also wanted to make their recommendations to the council with the goal of having them included in the environmental report and fully analyzed and evaluated, said South Laguna Civic Assn. Vice President Cindy Love.

Association recommendations included no changes in the city’s general plan, local coastal plan or zoning.

“The present owners had to have been aware of the general plan and zoning when they purchased the property,” said association President Bill Rihn. “Thus they must realize what the rules are — and they must play by the rules.”

Amendments to the local coastal plan are submitted by the city to the California Coastal Commission for certification.

The Laguna Beach Taxpayers Assn. also was represented at the meeting, but it supported the Athens Group project, association Secretary Ed Peterson said.

“We are supportive of the preliminary proposal for the redevelopment of the existing Aliso Creek Golf Course, Restaurant and Inn for several reasons,” said Karl Koski, speaking on behalf of the association.

“The existing facilities are dated and have been subjected to repeated damage over the past decades from Aliso Creek flood waters. Proposed improvements will be constructed above the flood plane. New constructions will comply with current city building codes and will meet new energy savings standards.”

Koski also said the project would stabilize the two major sewer lines at the bottom of Aliso Creek and make a start on improving the water quality; and it would increase revenue from property, sales and bed taxes that provide money for the city to maintain quality public services and funding for future capital projects.

“The viability of the resources of the canyon should be the primary consideration in evaluating planning proposals,” said Barbara Dresel, the second of five Village Laguna speakers. “The potential of a new project to improve city tax revenues will follow from a well-thought-out proposal. Tax income considerations should not dictate the decisions.”

Athens Group estimates bed tax revenue from the project will reach $2 million a year by 2013. Property taxes were estimated at $6.2 million.

Opposition was also expressed by Village Laguna and civic association members to residential units in the canyon, replication of the Thurston family home, channeling of Aliso Creek; and the amount of grading for the Aliso Lots.

“Residential development is not appropriate in the canyon, which is zoned for hotel, recreation and open space for good reason,” Caen said. “There are the dangers of a flood plain surrounded by extremely steep mountainous slopes.

“The beauty and drama of this landscape is best enjoyed by visitors leaving light footprints rather than permanent occupants.”

Elizabeth Brown, writing on behalf of Laguna Greenbelt Inc.’s committee on the Aliso Canyon project, said eliminating the residential component of the plan was the first of the group’s most important environmental issues.

The board also opposes a “concrete straight-jacket” for the creek, which they said looks bad and creates perpetual maintenance problems.

And finally, they would like the golf course transformed into an Audubon-certified facility, which includes native vegetation, limitations on herbicides and pesticides, and strict water quality standards for run off.

“Strawberry Farms Golf Course in Irvine is an example of such a facility,” Brown wrote.

Representatives of Village Laguna and the civic association representative said their groups favored using the two-acre Camp Elizabeth Dolph parcel recently purchased from YMCA as a youth facility as it was intended when the land was donated in the 1930s.

Additional recommendations included low-cost lodging, a youth hostel, moderately priced restaurants, special rates for local golfers, already part of the plan, and some self-parking spaces for diners or trail walkers on the developer proposed “Mountain to the Sea Trail.”

The trail ranked high on the wish list of individuals and groups consulted by Athens Group prior to the preparation of the redevelopment plan.

“We met with 25 community leaders and held 12 meetings,” said Athens Group Vice President John Mansour. “We took their comments to heart and incorporated them into the plan we submitted.”

Benefits besides tax revenue outlined by Mansour included the proposed dedication of approximately 250 acres of open space in the new Aliso Highlands Conservation Area, north of the inn, which would eliminate the potential for residential development currently allowed by the general plan.

Other benefits: a scenic art walk connecting the county parking lot to the Aliso Creek Trail, golf fees structured to favor locals, habitat and water quality management plans that will triple the wetlands habitat.

Peterson said Mansour had helped guide the Montage Resort to completion and now has hired Greg Vail who has served on the city’s Design Review Board and Planning Commission.

“Both of these men are long-time residents of Laguna Beach and are very much concerned about the effects and benefits of this project to our town,” Peterson said. “I was very interested to see in one of the Athens’ reports a reference to the Vision 2030 project on which over 1,000 of us in the city worked to provide a vision for Laguna over the following 20-30 years.

“I thought, wow, these folks are listening to the people of Laguna Beach and are trying to respond to concerns expressed in meetings like this.”

Top of the World resident Gene Felder suggested the developer think outside the box and ditch the golf course, and North Laguna resident Ken Anderson suggested a modern uninhibited architectural style that might bring recognition to the project.

“Laguna isn’t just Craftsman-style houses and it isn’t just cottages,” said Village Laguna representative Barbara Metzger. “We should look to other source for inspiration for the design in this canyon. This secluded spot is like nowhere else in Laguna. The works of architects such as Lamont Langworthy and Chris Abel, and the Halliburton House, overlooking the golf course provide other examples of site-sensitive design. Rather than copying cottage detailing the new buildings could feature innovative design inspired by the beautiful and unique canyon setting.”

The proposed redevelopment area covers 325 acres the developer owns and 10 acres it hopes to purchase to realign the entrance to the resort.

As proposed, the plan includes an inn with 15 guest rooms, meeting rooms, banquet facilities and restaurants; a spa building with 24 guest rooms and cottages on the south side of the creek with 36 rooms, and an underground parking garage with 507 spaces, none of which can be build without a coastal development permit.

“We are very early in the process,” Mansour said.

As of Wednesday, the city was still asking for documents needed to complete the submittal of the plan, the very first step in the process.

The city process includes preparation of an initial study by consultant Kathy Lottes, which is underway; at least one scoping session; preparation of a draft report, distribution of the report and notice of completion for public review; preparation of responses to comments; a final report that contains a mitigation monitoring program; public hearings before the Planning Commission and the Board of Adjustment/sign Review Board and the City Council.

Final city approval is expected to take 24 to 36 months to complete, with the California Coastal Commission approval process to follow.

For more information about the project visit www.alisocreekupdate.com or www.lagunabeachcity.net. For more information about Athens Group, visit www.athensdevco.com.