Commentary: Restored estuary is no place for skate park

Editor’s Note: This letter was also sent to the Laguna Beach Recreation Committeeand City Council.

After many years of efforts by Laguna Beach and its citizens to restore Aliso Creek’s Estuary, a dream is about to be realized.

Thanks to the grant writing expertise and clear-headed thinking of the Laguna Ocean Foundation, coupled with a grant of $300,000 to develop a restoration plan from the California Coastal Conservancy, our city has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to bring back and enhance an estuarial habitat.

Think about that and the educational opportunity it would afford our city’s population to participate in nurturing marine ecology. Unlike our neighboring cities, we would be known for replacing asphalt with nature. A restored estuary would significantly enhance the already storied beauty of the Laguna coast and help in the recovery of important local fishery habitat.

If Laguna Beach is successful in this restoration effort, other coastal cities with watersheds could learn from our experience and embark on similar projects.

Our City Council recognized this rarest of opportunities and voted unanimously on March 31to direct the city manager to assign senior city staff to become involved and “to enthusiastically endorse and support the project.”

Shortly afterward, however, prospects for the estuary restoration project became muddled following articles in local newspapers that a sub-committee of the city’s Recreation Committee had identified Aliso Creek Park as its first choice for locating a skate park.

We call on the Recreation Committee sub-committee to respect the accomplishment of the Laguna Ocean Foundation and, like the City Council, enthusiastically endorse and support the foundation’s efforts to restore the Laguna Creek Estuary.

GREG O’LOUGHLIN is president of the South Laguna Civic Assn.