A Challenge to the Accepted Stance on The Ranch

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Editor,

Allow me to contribute an opinion regarding the pro-Ranch field trip to Santa Monica, signs, T-shirts, letters, et al:

Make the distinction, folks, that you are being asked to support a money-making enterprise, not a charitable effort. Mark Christy has convinced many that his business is a worthy “cause” for which the community has touchingly expressed its love. Let’s set aside the purplish prose and see this for what it is.

We have many truly worthy causes in Laguna Beach, but the Ranch is not a charity. A local entrepreneur with a gift for salesmanship has hit a snag in his development process that was probably rushed through at the city level without sufficient attention to the larger procedures and rules that dictate what’s allowed in an environmentally sensitive area of the California coastline. This businessman has asked for help from locals who want to play, eat, and meet there – fair enough. But don’t mistake a business enterprise for a “cause.”

The big, bad California Coastal Commission exists for a reason, and picky though they may be, they aren’t necessarily wrong with the demands they are making of the Ranch. They are there to hound developers like Christy on the little things like lights that are too bright, vehicle over-capacity, insufficient public access to trails, beach-adjacent accommodations affordable only for the well-heeled. It strikes me that such concerns from the CCC are reasonable hoops for a developer to jump through. They often take years, not months. The hue and cry over due diligence creating a temporary roadblock is impressively forceful from the Ranch camp.

I want to see the Ranch finished out and upgraded, but it must be done carefully and with respect for nature. I’m surprised there isn’t more concern about the additional visitors and traffic this development is going to draw to Laguna.

Christy is a convincing figure, positioning himself as a humble steward of a community treasure that everyone wants to be able to use. It is even “the answer to Laguna’s prayers,” if you’re a praying person inclined to believe what he posts on his website. He’s done a great job of rallying the locals to help him in his bid for success. I wish him well, and boy, do I envy him his salesmanship. Would that other important, true community issues could draw this kind of response!

But consider this: if we allow a legitimate debate to play out between a developer and the state agency charged with making the coastline accessible to all and developed responsibly, it could ultimately contribute to our community winding up with a more environmentally appropriate resort.

 

Balanced Bob, from the Indy’s website.

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3 COMMENTS

  1. Balanced Bob:

    Based on the posting date of your comments, I’ll assume that you didn’t attend the Coastal Commission meeting, but instead were busy firing off your cleverly crafted editorial. If you were in attendance, then you would have heard that the Coastal Commission overwhelmingly (9-1) approved the restoration project for “The Ranch at Laguna Beach”. You would have heard personal apologies from the commissioners themselves for putting Christy through the ringer after Mark Fudge opened up Pandora’s box. You would have heard the dismantling of unsubstantiated claims and assumptions by misinformed trail advocates and opponents of the Ranch restoration.
    As for your trite comments regarding Mark Christy’s intentions and salesmanship, I have to assume that you don’t know Mark personally. Mark is not a developer, but more the anti-developer. Mark has personally led the charge in several Laguna Beach environmental and community affairs. He has been an unwavering supporter and part of every important effort to protect the environment around Laguna. In the 1990’s, Mark was one of the founding members of the Laguna Canyon Conservancy, local activists who, with little more than their protests and passion to “Save the Canyon!” derailed the Irvine Company’s plans to build thousands of homes and sprawling commercial centers in Laguna Canyon. That effort ultimately set in motion a sequence of events that resulted in the creation of the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park and Crystal Cove State Park.
    The rehabilitation of the golf course property and structures is being done with sensitivity to its environmental, historic and cultural importance to Laguna Beach and surrounding communities. This includes preservation of the original Thurston home site and the rehabilitation of the Camp Elizabeth Dolph, abandoned as a “Scout Camp” for years and used by the prior owners as a maintenance yard and dumpsite. This area has been beautifully transformed into an environmentally “green, sustainable,” multi-use open space available for a variety of private and community gatherings, while preserving the natural beauty of the site. Aside from removing the vegetation within 25 feet of Aliso Creek and reducing event capacity and decibel levels, the Coastal Commission approved the area intended as an event venue. The golf course and surrounding vegetation look better that ever.
    I don’t understand what drives people to take a stand on issues when they don’t have all the facts. There’s always those that grab “sound bites” of information and jump on the bandwagon not knowing where they’re headed. The bureaucratic process was arduous, costly in countless ways, and ultimately unwarranted. Like the vast majority of Lagunans and local communities, I couldn’t be happier about the decision to move forward with the restoration of our town’s crown jewel.

    Happy New Year!
    Brian Hurley

    PS –
    Has the Indy always printed anonymous letters with passive aggressive innuendos? Could “Fair and Balanced Bob” be his entire pseudonym?

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