Laguna Greenbelt

In less than six hours, fire destroyed the same canyons that environmentalist Elisabeth Brown has spent a decade trying to protect. Two of the hardest-hit areas were those closest to her heart: her Canyon Acres neighborhood and the Laguna Greenbelt that surrounds the city.

Re "El Morro Seeks to Stave Off Eviction," May 13: The article fails to mention that there is support from a large coalition of environmental groups for the state park plan for environmental restoration and public access at El Morro. Supporters include the Laguna Beach Chapter of Surfrider Foundation, Laguna Greenbelt, Laguna Canyon Conservancy, the Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club, the Planning and Conservation League, Orange County Coastkeeper, Friends of the Irvine Coast, and Alliance to Rescue Crystal Cove.

The Laguna Greenbelt is looking for volunteers to help plant and seed native plants in Laguna Coast Wilderness Park Saturday. All volunteers will get a free "Keep it Wild" T-shirt. Information: (949) 494-9352.

Re "El Morro Residents Labor to Stay Put," Jan. 24: Here's one more desperate scheme by the El Morro tenant speculators to extend the state's already generous lease extension beyond the current Dec. 31, 2004, termination. This time it's to benefit others: the Laguna Greenbelt and also the California State Parks Foundation (wisely rejected by each). It's also for the Crystal Cove historic cottages (already adequately covered by recent bond funding). And, of course, it's for affordable housing elsewhere in the state park; who could possibly oppose this?

Green! Green! Green! Boy, do I love Southern California when it's green! I looked up at our downtown hills and they're green! Driving out Laguna Canyon Road: Green! Village parks and lush neighborhood gardens: All green! The recent rains may cause havoc on our highways, but the riot of green they add to open space is a remarkable, beautiful sight. I more fully appreciate the word greenbelt, and I'm delighted to read that Laguna Greenbelt Inc. is the recipient of the 1989 David Gaines Award for "sustained and effective action in defense of the environment," awarded by California's oldest environmental lobbying group, the Planning and Conservation League.

Columnist Dana Parsons quoted Laguna Beach Mayor Lida Lenney ("Mayor Must Escape Canyon for Respite in Mountains," Oct. 7) as remembering her meeting with four other people in 1987 that would become the Laguna Canyon Conservancy. This may be true of that organization, but this does not credit the tireless efforts of the Laguna Greenbelt organization that was started years ago by beloved Mr. Dilley. Without this tireless group's activities over many years, the Conservancy would never have been possible, and I think that any reporting of efforts to save Laguna Canyon must include the really heroic work of the Laguna Greenbelt.

Re "El Morro Residents Labor to Stay Put," Jan. 24. The El Morro trailer park has floated a new scheme to allow the trailers to stay in Crystal Cove State Park beyond the expiration of their lease at the end of 2004. In the packet sent to the press, the names of two non-profit organizations were listed as beneficiaries of supposedly excess revenues: State Parks Foundation, a state-wide organization that supports state parks; and Laguna Greenbelt, Inc. The Board of the Laguna Greenbelt Inc. wishes to reassure our supporters and members that we want nothing to do with this proposal other than to see it defeated.

As a supporter of Laguna Greenbelt Inc. from 1968, I was very interested in your editorial, "A Park for the Ages"(April 1). The Aliso and Woods Canyon Regional Park will be a living memorial to James W. (Jim) Dilley, who was once described by your newspaper as "The improbable leader of the impossible dream." He truly turned out to be the man from La Mancha, and we are all grateful for his leadership and foresight. HARRY A MOON Laguna Beach

In old newspaper articles, Jim Dilley is quoted as calling himself "quixotic, carried away with the cause." His dream? To ring the city with 10,000 acres of open space. Dilley concocted the idea of a "Laguna Greenbelt" 23 years ago, a dozen years before he died of cancer in 1980.

Laguna Beach City Manager Kenneth C. Frank will discuss possible acquisition of land along Laguna Canyon Road at a meeting Thursday of the Laguna Canyon Conservancy. At the 7 p.m. meeting, Frank will talk about using city money to buy pockets of land owned by the Irvine Co. along the canyon highway. These parcels would be bought with Proposition 70 money for open space and would fill in missing parts of the Laguna Greenbelt, envisioned as a development buffer.

Re "El Morro Residents Labor to Stay Put," Jan. 24. The El Morro trailer park has floated a new scheme to allow the trailers to stay in Crystal Cove State Park beyond the expiration of their lease at the end of 2004. In the packet sent to the press, the names of two non-profit organizations were listed as beneficiaries of supposedly excess revenues: State Parks Foundation, a state-wide organization that supports state parks; and Laguna Greenbelt, Inc. The Board of the Laguna Greenbelt Inc. wishes to reassure our supporters and members that we want nothing to do with this proposal other than to see it defeated.

The Laguna Greenbelt is looking for volunteers to help plant and seed native plants in Laguna Coast Wilderness Park Saturday. All volunteers will get a free "Keep it Wild" T-shirt. Information: (949) 494-9352.

The June 7 editorial "Directed Development" was excellent on balancing growth and quality of life, especially as it pertains to south Orange County. Adequate growth here has certainly taken place already or is already approved: the Ladera, Forster Ranch and Talega developments, for example. Wall-to-wall housing, commercial and light industrial structures completely covering the vast majority of our formerly bucolic Orange County are not a legacy which we should hand over to future generations.

A Grand Canyon--This weekend, explore Laurel Canyon in Laguna Coast Wilderness Park. Canyon trails wind through a variety of habitats, from coastal sage scrub to oak groves and waterfalls. The canyon is also home to a variety of wildlife, including gnatcatchers, red-tailed hawks, rabbits and mule deer. Walking tours through the pristine countryside are held every Saturday morning and afternoon through fall. Mountain biking is allowed on Sundays only.

Twelve environmental activists, some of whom chained themselves to bulldozers, were arrested by Orange County sheriff's deputies Wednesday during a second day of protests aimed at halting the grading of Laguna Canyon for a 17-mile tollway. Protesters arrived at the site before dawn and, in a symbolic gesture, five tethered themselves to heavy earthmoving equipment with string, causing authorities to arrest them.

In a stunning blow to Laguna Canyon environmental groups, a federal court Friday cleared the way for construction to resume on the final phase of the 17-mile San Joaquin Hills tollway. A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco unanimously affirmed a 1993 lower court decision allowing the project to proceed.

In recent months, the boards of directors of three highly regarded Laguna Beach civic organizations--Laguna Greenbelt, Village Laguna and the Coalition of Neighborhood Associations--have voted to support the buyout, non-development option for Diamond-Crestview Tract 764. These organizations all have different missions and purposes. Their membership is made up of citizens from throughout the community. They reside in neighborhoods from North Laguna to Three Arch Bay. Yet it is important to note that the leadership of these groups all hold one position in common: The 41 acres that make up Diamond-Crestview should be spared from bulldozers and asphalt.

A ban on building a toll road through Laguna Canyon was extended at least through September when a U.S. appeals court Wednesday issued an injunction allowing the road's opponents time to prepare a suit claiming federal officials illegally approved the project. The two-page ruling by a three-judge panel from the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco was a significant setback to the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor Agency, which is building the tollway.

A ban on building a toll road through Laguna Canyon was extended at least through September when a U.S. appeals court Wednesday issued an injunction allowing the road's opponents time to prepare a suit claiming federal officials illegally approved the project. The two-page ruling by a three-judge panel from the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco was a significant setback to the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor Agency, which is building the tollway.

In less than six hours, fire destroyed the same canyons that environmentalist Elisabeth Brown has spent a decade trying to protect. Two of the hardest-hit areas were those closest to her heart: her Canyon Acres neighborhood and the Laguna Greenbelt that surrounds the city.