Greenbelt Group OKs Wilderness Park

A proposed master plan for Laguna Coast Wilderness Park has cleared its first hurdle, winning the endorsement of the panel that oversees the area.

Coastal Greenbelt Authority members voted unanimously Thursday to endorse the plan, which includes details about park trails and other uses.

“I’m excited that we’re heading into the home stretch for approval of an incredible resource for the County of Orange,” said Kathie Matsuyama, a county landscape architect who helped present the plan.

The plan marks the first major step toward fully opening the wilderness area between Laguna Beach, Newport Beach and Irvine. The parkland is now open mostly for guided tours.

While Coastal Greenbelt Authority meetings usually draw only a handful of people, at least 75 attended the meeting Thursday at Irvine City Hall. Overall, the public’s response was positive, county and Laguna Beach officials said.

The proposal should be ready for public review by the end of the month, once some revisions are made, Matsuyama said.

Copies will be available at libraries and city halls in Laguna Beach, Newport Beach and Irvine. The documents also will be mailed to interested agencies, environmental groups and homeowners.

After gathering input from the public for six to eight weeks, the county will take the revised plan back to the Greenbelt Authority for final approval. Laguna Beach, which owns part of the parkland, must also approve the plan.

Matsuyama said she hopes to have the final document before the county Board of Supervisors by early 1998.

She called the schedule “slightly ambitious” but added: “I think we could make it.”