Laguna Looks Land Gift in the Mouth

Laguna Beach is mulling whether to accept a gift of 75 acres at the end of Driftwood Drive in South Laguna above Albertsons. The parcel would be turned into public open space.

The catch is that caring for such a gem can be difficult, especially in an era of government cost-cutting.

Formerly owned by the Essinger Family Trust, which also owns the Laguna Terrace Mobile Home Park to the west, the property was sold in 2004 to Driftwood Properties, which was affiliated with Athens Development, developers of the Montage resort.

The Coastal Commision prevented the 75 acres (see accompanying map) from being developed, so since it wasn’t an economically viable property for Driftwood, they decided to donate it to the Coastal Conservancy. In 2010, the California Coastal Commission ordered Driftwood to clean up six partly-developed acres of the parcel by removing about 5,500 sandbags, plus assorted berms, plastic discharge pipes and “non-native vegetation” left behind by Essinger, the previous owner.

As part of this cleanup agreement, Driftwood signed over more than 75 acres of open space to the California Coastal State Conservancy, which was founded in 1976 to purchase, protect and restore California’s coastal resources. But the transfer was linked to an adjoining 80-acre tract. If the Conservancy buys the 80-acre parcel, both properties would become public open space.

Laguna officials, knowing the city would be on the hook for undetermined future costs if it accepts the dedication, are "analyzing the property" and the cost of maintaining it, City Manager John Pietig said.

If the dedication is accepted, Laguna Beach would own the land and the Coastal Conservancy would oversee its conservation.

Derek Ostensen, president of the Laguna Canyon Foundation, said he would work closely with both the city and Conservancy if the deal goes through. “Our foundation would probably provide the hands-on volunteers to bring the property back to its native state,” he said.

But he said it could take five years to remove non-native plants (including acacia scrubs that some have mistaken for 20-foot pine trees), develop trails and restore the land with chaparral shrubs, coastal sage and big-leaved Crownbeard.

The city would largely be in charge of installing benches and other improvements, Ostensen said. “The public trail through the length of the park will definitely tie in the 20,000-acre wilderness preserve and the public parks system of trails.”

But no quick decision is expected. Laguna is currently drawing on reserve cash to balance its budget, even while leaving multiple jobs unfilled and delaying pension hikes.

The Coastal Commission and Coastal Conservancy are also debating what to do with the property, Pietig said. Some options include not accepting the dedication, shifting costs from one entity to another, searching for perpetual grant monies to care for the land, or simply to not accept the dedication at all.