The Laguna Canyon Foundation is poised to add offshoots to an existing family- and senior citizen-friendly walking trail in the Michael and Tricia Berns Canyon Preserve by next spring.
The Planning Commission unanimously voted Oct. 20 to approve the project, which also includes the creation of a gathering terrace for public programs and educational events for up to about a dozen people.
Three new trail spurs will either lead to a rock outcropping, view, or special native plants to “inspire that sense of exploration,” Laguna Canyon Foundation executive director Hallie Jones said. The trail design includes boulders, heavy timbers, stumps, and a 20-foot-wide circular deck of ignition-resistant wood that will provide seating or climbable play elements for children. The public’s use of the Preserve will be self-guided through various informational signs—tour groups aren’t part of the plan.
“Our guiding principle with this project is to be light on the land [and] to do right by the site,” Jones said.
As a Laguna Canyon native, Jones learned to ride horses on the property when it was still used for horse stables. A few remaining sections of fence will remain as a nod to its equestrian history.
The city purchased the De Witt property off Laguna Canyon Road in 1990 for $2 million with a grant obtained through Proposition 70, according to city records. The parcel extends from the south side of Anneliese’s School to Phillips Road, north of the Sun Valley neighborhood.
In 2016, Laguna Canyon Foundation signed a $1 a year lease with the city for the ranch house and began making plans for restoration and renovation. The deal finally gave the nonprofit a home within the wilderness park it is dedicated to preserving.
In March, the Foundation announced a $1 million gift from the Berns, which includes a $500,000 earmark to create a quasi-endowment for the operation and maintenance of the property. The couple previously supported access to open spaces with a $1 million donation to Crystal Cove State Park to create and sustain the Berns Environment Study Loop.
On Tuesday, a Laguna Canyon Foundation employee was mowing down a patch of invasive Hemlock and Mustard plants on the 3.9-acre property that would also create ideal fuel for wildfire. Knocking these species down is a priority before Santa Ana Winds arrive later this year, Jones said.
Another goal of the Preserve’s next phase is to formalize the Stairsteps Trail, which provided one of two legal access points from Laguna Canyon Road into the Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park. By adding some directional signs, Jones hopes to encourage bicyclists to stay on dirt trails rather than racing down Phillips Street where there is a potential hazard of collisions with vehicles.
Stairsteps Trail traverses the property and serves as one of only two legal access points into the Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park from Laguna Canyon Road.
Next to the Foundation’s headquarters, the Massen Greene House, a reconfigured utility terrace will include a new shipping container, retrofitted as a storage shed, and three wood slat plant nursery structures to support the team’s habitat restoration work.
The Foundation will maintain 12 existing on-site parking spaces for visitors and staff. City staffers determined the improved recreational use won’t generate additional vehicle trips that would require adding spaces, according to a staff report.
Planning Commissioner Steve Kellenberg lauded the Foundation providing an access point to the Laguna Greenbelt that will be more accessible to walkers who might be wary of taking on the rigorous trails in the Wilderness Parks.
“To have a place where families can go and touch the plants and kids can run around and have a nature trail is really, I think, a critical piece of total puzzle… of allowing the community to enjoy the nature the Greenbelt provides,” he said.
Penelope Milne, president of Laguna Beach Canyon Alliance of Neighborhoods Defense Organization, also endorsed the project when it went before the Planning Commission.
“We could not be more delighted to have Laguna Canyon Foundation as neighbors and stewards,” Milne said. “With the combination of passion and knowledge, we feel happier and safer that this is a bright spot for all of us in the Canyon.”
