Coastal Commission staff recommends denial of toll road permit

By: MARGA KELLOGG - Staff Writer | Friday, September 28, 2007 10:47 PM PDT ∞

OCEANSIDE ---- The staff of the powerful California Coastal Commission recommended Friday that the panel deny the first of two permits required for a controversial toll road that would cut through a popular surfing spot near San Diego's border with Orange County.

The recommendation, included in a staff report for the Coastal Commission's Oct. 11 meeting, says the toll road proposal violates "numerous resource protection policies of the Coastal Act" and that the project could irreparably harm endangered species in environmentally sensitive areas where the road is planned.

Meanwhile on Friday, the Orange County agency that is hoping to build the $875 million project announced that it would include roughly $100 million in its proposal to pay for preservation of California's parks.

The toll road, which is the final 16.9-mile link in a system of toll roads through Orange County, would enter San Diego County four miles northeast of San Clemente. In San Diego County, the toll road would hug the northern border of San Mateo State Campground, which is part of the 3,000-acre San Onofre State Park, and come within a little more than a football field's length of the closest campsite.

Critics say the freeway link would ultimately destroy the campground and have a negative effect on the Trestles surf break, a popular surfing spot.

Proponents of the toll road say it is needed to relieve traffic congestion on Interstate 5 through Orange County.

The Foothill Transportation Corridor Agency, which would build and manage the road, is made up of three Orange County supervisors and representatives from 12 Orange County cities.

Lisa Telles, a spokeswoman for the transportation agency, said Friday that the agency has always planned to offer park improvements as part of the project, but with the Coastal Commission hearing two weeks away, "we want to make it clear that we're serious about improving the park."

The agency is proposing $70 million be used to pay for an extension of the lease at San Onofre State Park. The lease with the U.S. Department of the Navy expires in 14 years and the current lease arrangement of $1 for 50 years will not be possible under current federal law. Leases on federal property must be negotiated based on fair market value.

Another $20 million would go to pay for construction of new or improved camping facilities at San Onofre State Beach and restoration of historic cottages at Crystal Cove State Park, which is located off Pacific Coast Highway between Corona del Mar and Laguna Beach.

And $10 million would pay for restoration of 150 acres of coastal sage scrub habitat in Crystal Cove State park, the agency said.

The offer to help pay for park improvements held little sway Friday with some environmental groups.

Elizabeth Goldstein, president of the California State Park Foundation ---- a statewide organization that serves as an advocate for the state parks system ---- said Friday that rather than offering money, the transportation agency needs to go back to the drawing board and deliver a less damaging alternative for the Coastal Commission's consideration.

"Their project, according to the staff report, is inconsistent legally with the Coastal Zone Management Act," Goldstein said. "You can't buy your way out of inconsistencies with the law."

Stefanie Sekich, who is leading a charge to preserve the Trestles area and is vice chairwoman for the San Diego chapter of the Surfrider Foundation, said she is staying focused on the road proposal and how it would affect the area now.

"It's more important to look at what they're currently trying to do in the park, rather than dangling money and saying it will be preserved," she said.

Telles said the money for the improvements and the lease extension would come with the financing for the project, which will be paid for with bond money.

The agency hopes to get permits for the $875 million project within the next two years and start construction on the toll road in 2011, Telles said.

Contact Staff Writer Marga Kellogg at (760) 901-4067 or mkellogg@nctimes.com.

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