An Orange County man has filed a lawsuit seeking to allow the former tenants of Crystal Cove to move back into the isolated piece of paradise tucked between Newport Beach and Laguna Beach.
The twist is that while the tenants of the 46 cottages fought the state for two decades to stay at Crystal Cove, none of the people behind the suit has ever lived there.
The suit was filed July 3 in Orange County Superior Court by Bruce Hostetter and the Crystal Cove Community Trust, a group Hostetter formed with three others. Hostetter, who lives in Fullerton, contends the state violated the California Environmental Quality Act when it forced the tenants to move July 8. He said his primary concern is to save the ramshackle cottages from deterioration that residents would not allow to occur.
The tiny beach colony is on property owned by the state Department of Parks and Recreation. For years, the state has sought to take over the cottages and put the land to some public use.
Tim LaFranchi, chief counsel for the parks department--which is mulling what to do with the site since plans to build a resort were abandoned--said the suit is without merit.
Hostetter's lawsuit puts him at odds with not only the state, which bought the property from the Irvine Co. for $32.5 million in 1979, but with environmentalists and public interest groups that hold out hope of opening some cabins to the public and turning others into educational facilities or artists' studios.
"I am very familiar with the work state parks is doing down there, and they're doing a wonderful job," said Joan Irvine Smith, a member of the Irvine family and one of the leaders in the fight against the proposed resort.
Smith's group, the Crystal Cove Conservancy, has scheduled an Oct. 20 fund-raiser at the beach colony. It will include an underwater TV feed from divers just offshore.
On Friday, Crystal Cove felt like the ghost town it has become. A couple of fishermen had planted their poles in the sand and three women sat under an umbrella.
Brush around the cottages had been trimmed to make it easier for contractors to spot water and gas valves and to get a better look at the buildings. Contractors were stripping lead paint from four cabins that will be used as offices and living quarters for state rangers and workers, and coating windows with protective plastic.
