Montage is back

Chapter victory in February doesn't deter resort developer

Less than a year after the Angeles Chapter declared victory against a golf course development in Laguna Beach, the battle is heating up again.

photo courtesy Penny Elia Developer the Athens Group cleared vegetation on two acres of Hobo Ridge considered to be high value habitat without giving prior notification to conservation activists, despite an agreement to do so.

In February of this year it looked like the Angeles Chapter's Hobo Aliso Task Force had discouraged the Athens Group, partners with the Montage Hotel and Spa in Laguna Beach, from plans to develop public land that has been designated wilderness. But the developers are back, this time with what task force chair Penny Elia describes as a scaled down plan that will keep the golf course on private property and will likely involve development of pristine Hobo Ridge, which the group fought hard to save from becoming a subdivision.

The Montage fired the opening shot in what will likely be a long-running battle when it cleared vegetation on two acres of the 11-acre ridge-top property. The discovery of the denuded ridge came just two days after the Athens Group and Montage held a group of community meetings apparently designed to convince opponents of the development of their environmental commitment.

The brushing, which Elia says took the vegetation right down to dirt, was done with the approval of the Laguna Fire Department which apparently gave the go-ahead to protect neighboring homes from wildfires.

'The ridge is considered very high value natural habitat,' said Elia. Asked what she thought was behind the Montage's action, she speculated that it could be a blatant ploy to alter the natural ecosystem before the experts are brought in to conduct the environmental impact report that will be required before development can proceed.

Martyn Hoffman, Athens Group director of forward planning, contends they cleared the ridge at the request of neighbors who were worried about fire danger and there was no intent to circumvent the regulatory process.

According to Elia, the Sierra Club has an ongoing agreement with the Athens Group/Montage Resort that no clearing or grading would be done on the property without prior notification and only with a certified biologist on site. The task force was not notified. 'What kind of an EIR can we expect with this type of damage already underway?' Elia asked in a letter to the Coastal Commission.

The Athens Group is expected to submit a plan to the Laguna Beach Design Review Board for development after the first of the year. The plans now call for a new 90-room lodge, a redesigned nine-hole golf course, and condominiums.