OUR LAGUNA: Dedicated to five-parcel greenbelt effort

Jim Dilley’s dream of a 2,500-acre greenbelt around Laguna seeded the Laguna Wilderness Park, the second-largest coastal canyon preserve in Southern California.

And it got larger Wednesday.

“Jim, you should be so proud,” Mayor Jane Egly said at the dedication of five new parcels acquired for the park.

A crowd of 50 clustered on a wind-whipped trailhead with views of the vast open space preserved through the combined efforts of folks in the city who cherished Dilley’s vision enough to tax themselves to buy up land slated for development, the voters of California who were willing to pay for parkland, the Laguna Canyon Foundation, the Conservation Fund, California State Coastal Conservancy and Orange County.

“Congratulations to all of you for standing tall and preserving this for present and future generations,” said 5th District Supervisor Pat Bates.

The foundation and the Conservation Fund negotiated the terms of the acquisition of the Jaysu, Stonefield, Decker, Haun and Chao properties in 2007 and worked with the city and county to buy the properties and convey them to the city for permanent open space.

As with earlier acquisitions, the county will manage the new acreage as part of the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park.

“These acquisitions reflect our continuing success in working with the city, county and other nonprofits to purchase private land for public use and the preservation of open space in an urbanized environment,” said Michael Pinto, president and founder of the nonprofit foundation, which is dedicated to preserving, protecting and enhancing the park.

“The acquired parcels form important land links with different parts of our existing park system, enhancing the ecological viability of our South Coast wilderness park system.

“We look forward to working with the Coastal Conservancy and all our partners as future parcels are identified and acquired.”

Laguna Beach residents got the ball rolling when 80% of the voters approved in 1990 a $20 million bond to buy up Irvine Co. land in Laguna Canyon. California voters passed the Neighborhood Parks, Clean Water, Clean Air and Coastal Protection Bond Act in 2000, known as Prop. 12. The proposition included a line item allocation $12.5 million to the Coastal Conservancy “to undertake projects for the South Coast Wilderness system of coastal canyons and watersheds in south Orange County, including, but not limited to properties in Laguna Coast Wilderness Park and Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park.”

The foundation, the Conservation Fund, the city and the county have worked since 2001 to help the conservancy spend the money.

“Most Californians would be surprised to learn that such a magnificent, accessible wilderness lies in the heart of Orange County,” said Sam Schuchat, executive director of the conservancy. “It’s better than Disneyland.”

Only the Santa Monica preserve is larger.

“And Santa Monica needed a state agency to do it,” said Mary Fegraus, founding executive director of the foundation.

“Yeah, but we had Mary,” Pinto said.

Schuchat said his associate Deborah Ruddock told him the acquisitions were one of most fun things she has ever done because of the foundation.

“Contact with Debbie has been delightful,” Fegraus said. “We accomplished so much. We didn’t know if we could do it, but we did.”

Fegraus reduced her full-time commitment to the foundation last year, but still works on some special projects. Laguna Beach native Meg Jones succeeded Fegraus as executive director, but she is leaving to have a baby. A search for a replacement is underway.

“My career in conservation began here [in Laguna] with the Greenbelt and Jim Dilley,” said Scott Ferguson, director of the conservation fund’s Southern California programs.

Artists were perhaps the first to value the canyons and coast of Laguna simply for its beauty, founding a school of plein air painting in the late 1800s.

Three painters — Erich Neubert, Fred Hope and Doug Stotts — all members of the Southern California Artists Assn., were busy at their easels Wednesday.

Hope, president of the association, said he is friends with Meg Jones and her mother, Kathy, and liked what he heard about the dedication. ”I decided to be a part of it,” Hope said.

Neubert said the trio was at the dedication to show people that artists love, appreciate and enjoy the open space.

A rattlesnake that also showed up for the dedication was not invited to the reception at the Nix Nature Center that followed the dedication.

Among the guests: Laguna Canyon Conservancy President Carolyn Wood, Stephany and 6-year-old Perry Skenderian, the 1989 “Walk” coordinator Harry Huggins, former county director of Harbors Beaches and Parks Eric Jessen, foundation Volunteer Manager Bette Lee, the foundation’s most recently appointed board member Derek Ostensen and Park Ranger Barbara Norton.

“It doesn’t get any better than this,” Norton said.

  MATERNITY LEAVE

Women who expected to deliver their children at South Coast Medical Center this year and hoped the hospital would extend the deadline to close the maternity ward will not get a reprieve.

“This is a business decision,” said hospital chief executive Bruce Christian. “We can not continue to allow further erosion of the financial picture. I wish we could delay the closing.”

A group of expectant parents were devastated to learn the maternity center would close in May and appealed to have the deadline extended at least to the end of the year.

The unique ward offered natural childbirth with the services of a midwife combined with the safety net of hospital facilities and obstetrician Ken James, if needed, in what many called an idyllic setting. However, Christian offered some solace.

“Dr. James has hospital privileges at Saddleback [Memorial Medical Center] and the midwifes are applying for hospital privileges there and at UCI Medical Center,” Christian said.

Christian said closure of the maternity center was a necessary decision, prompted by the declining number of births at the hospital, which administrators said costs the hospital about $100,000 a month.

Midwife B.J. Snell was unavailable for comment at press time. For more information, call Beach Cities Midwifery at (949) 499-0440.

OUR LAGUNA is a regular feature of the Laguna Beach Coastline Pilot. Contributions are welcomed. Write to Barbara Diamond, P.O. Box 248, Laguna Beach, 92652; hand-deliver to Suite 22 in the Lumberyard, 384 Forest Ave.; call (949) 494-4321 or fax (949) 494-8979.