Aliso campaign victorious- wilderness golf plans halted

Views of Aliso Canyon, the Pacific Ocean, and Catalina Island can be enjoyed from Aliso Wood Canyons Wilderness Park near Laguna Beach. A luxury resort's bid to extend an adjacent golf course into this publicly owned park was thwarted in part due to Sierra Club efforts. photo by Betsy Bredau

Members of the Chapter's Hobo Aliso Task Force scored a major victory in February in their battle to safeguard Aliso and Wood Canyons Park, 4,000 rugged acres of open land just south of Laguna Beach and part of the 37,380-acre Nature Reserve of Orange County.

The task force, which was formed in 2000 to fight development on Hobo Aliso Ridge, which is just north of Aliso Canyon, took the lead among a coalition of neighborhood and environmental groups in influencing District 5 supervisor Tom Wilson to nix an audacious plan by a luxury hotel operating company to build a private championship golf course on land Wilson himself convinced the county to designate wilderness.

The company, Montage Hotels & Resorts, operates the ocean-front Montage Resort & Spa in Laguna Beach. After building the $500-a-night resort, they purchased nearby Aliso Creek Inn & Golf Course. Soon after they began contacting county officials to see if they could extend the golf course into the adjacent, publicly owned wilderness preserve.

Supervisor Wilson's announcement that he would not support the Montage plan came a short six months after the task force began its campaign. The key to their success, said chair Penny Elia, was 'getting out in front.' As soon as word leaked last summer that Montage executives were holding meetings with Wilson, the task force went into action with a letter-writing campaign that alerted statewide environmental groups and agencies to the potential land grab. The letters were followed in rapid succession by a professionally designed website and regular strategy meetings among groups opposed to extending the golf course into the oak-studded canyon.

'In my opinion,' said Elia, 'any task force should have a web designer, an attorney, a PR and marketing person-and a lot of young people.' Elia said the website has been much more effective than conventional strategies such as the precinct walking, mailbox stuffing, and telephoning-the kind of actions the task force took to stop development on Hobo Aliso Ridge-both in alerting people to what Montage had planned and providing opportunities to take action. The site, www.savealisoncanyon.org, told visitors where to write letters and whom to contact.

'During the five years that have elapsed since we started the fight to save the ridge, technology caught up with us, says Elia. 'With a website you can email a link to any person or organization anywhere in the world and get your message out immediately, and you can link organizations. It's much more powerful than a piece of paper and more environmentally friendly.'

But Elia isn't dismissing the difficult and costly fight the task force took on to stop Driftwood Estates, a subdivision of 18 estate homes planned for Hobo Aliso ridge. As a result of its efforts the numbers of homes was reduced from 18 to 11 and the proposed developer was forced to set aside 210 of the 240 acres for open space. The fight for the ridge was important, said Elia, because a neighborhood of inexperienced activists learned what it takes to fight unwanted development. 'When the Montage tipped its hand by buying [Aliso Canyon Inn & Golf Course], we had a group of savvy, well-informed veterans ready to swing into action. Plus people in the community had been sensitized to the fact that they could lose the open space we all love so much down here.'

Elia also acknowledged support from other Angeles Chapter task forces in both Los Angeles and Orange counties, whose members attended Laguna Beach planning commission and city council meetings.

Wilson told the Southern Sierran that after taking a trip down the canyon he couldn't support selling or leasing part of the Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park and that a golf course would be 'a major disruption of the area.' At the same time Wilson downplayed the influence of the task force and the coalition. 'I understand the environmental side and the NIMBY side, but if I think something is the right idea I'll support it.' Wilson insisted the Montage plan was a bad idea and wasn't going to happen on his watch.

What worries open space advocates is that Orange County politicos would even consider rescinding the wilderness designation of Aliso and Wood canyons, an action they warn could set a dangerous precedent statewide. The parkland and wildlife sanctuary was originally granted to the county in exchange for development of the city of Aliso Viejo, Orange County's newest suburb, with the stipulation that it be used for open space and recreation. The county added to the park with grant money.

Elia said the next move is to sensitize the other four supervisors to the danger of rolling back wilderness for private development, which could undercut conservation efforts in the county and elsewhere. Another challenge is to elect an environmentally responsible supervisor to replace Wilson when he retires in January, 2007.

In Los Angeles County, Montage investors have plans for a luxury hotel near Wilshire Boulevard and Rodeo Drive in the heart of the city. The 214-bed resort, which voters recently approved in a referendum, will include 25 town houses and a three-story commercial building and will require 1,172 new parking spaces. Opponents continue to oppose the project and have sued over CEQA violations that include traffic congestion and air pollution.