All that's left of the 295 seaside trailers just north of Laguna Beach, once festooned with flowerpots and tidy patios, are some crumbling concrete slabs. And memories.
Dump trucks and earthmovers are scraping across 35 acres of canyon and beach, transforming the funky little enclave that was El Morro Village into Southern California's first coastal campground in two decades.
State parks officials and environmentalists trumpet the $12-million construction project, which began last month, as a victory for public access and the preservation of pristine Orange County coastline.
"Tens of thousands of added Californians and people from all across the nation can now enjoy this spot of Southern California paradise," said state parks spokesman Roy Stearns. "It opens up a whole new coastal ocean world."
But former residents, many still mourning the demise of their beachfront idyll, wonder why the site on Coast Highway has sat empty and padlocked for more than two years.
The scenic spot was at the heart of an impassioned turf battle between mobile home residents and state parks officials. The state bought the land from the Irvine Co. in 1979 for $32.5 million; tenants rented the property from the state for 25 years, then waged a legal and political battle to extend their lease. Residents made the state several offers -- including paying higher rents and expanding public access -- in exchange for staying put, all of which were ultimately rejected.
"The state really made a tremendous blunder in pushing forward on their plan that dooms to forever the loss of revenue," said Rolly Pulaski, 73, who lived at El Morro with his wife for eight years. State parks have been struggling because of California's budget woes and face a $1.2-billion backlog of deferred maintenance.
"There is a feeling of loss," Pulaski, now a resident of Newport Beach, said of his former home. But "we've all moved on. We had to move on."
Plans for the new El Moro Campground -- spelled with one "r" -- include 60 campsites, 200 day-use parking spaces, hiking trails, picnic areas, a restored Moro Creek and an amphitheater.
Since the neighborhood was emptied, contractors have hauled away more than 200 vacant mobile homes, cleaned up hazardous materials and closed down the antiquated sewage system.
Workers are now ripping out nonnative plants, removing concrete foundations, demolishing outbuildings, and taking out old power lines and other infrastructure, said Ken Kramer, Orange Coast District superintendent for California State Parks.
