Cranston Plans Tour of Laguna Laurel Site : CANYON: Cranston Will Get Firsthand Look

LAGUNA BEACH —  Sen. Alan Cranston will tour Laguna Canyon with officials from Laguna Beach and the Irvine Co. Friday to view the proposed site of a 3,200-home residential development that has fueled a decade-long battle between th developer and local residents.

“The purpose of the visit is to give the senator an update on the progress of discussions going on regarding Laguna Canyon,” said Gil Saldana, an aide to the California Democrat. “In 1981 the senator authored a (failed) bill that would have made the canyon and Irvine Coast a national park, so now he’s interested in the local efforts that are now taking place.”

Cranston will visit the 2,150-acre Laguna Laurel project site as part of a one-day trip to Orange County that will also include stops in Santa Ana and Newport Beach, aides said. They said Cranston wanted to get a firsthand look at the project area, anticipating the possibility of a future request for federal funding from local officials.

“The senator has not taken a position on the development and will not take a position on the development,” Saldana said. “But in the event that the Irvine Co. decides it will relocate the project out of Laguna Canyon, we imagine the Laguna Beach officials will probably need some financial assistance to acquire the land.”

He did not specify which funds or how much federal money could be available to Laguna Beach for land acquisition to preserve open space.

The Cranston visit comes several weeks after the Irvine Co. announced it would consider moving the project out of the canyon into neighboring Irvine, if officials from the two cities agree to a set of stringent demands on the scope, finances and review process for the development.

For nearly 10 years, city officials and the Irvine Co. have been at odds over the proposed residential development slated for the mouth of Laguna Canyon. The development would include apartments and condominiums, a golf course, a school and shopping center, along with public parks and preserved terrain.

Laguna Beach residents and many local officials fear the large development would damage the environmentally sensitive canyon.

Irvine Co. officials said they were recently contacted by Cranston’s office inquiring about the status of the negotiations between the cities of Laguna Beach and Irvine.

“I don’t know what actually can come out of this meeting,” said Irvine Co. spokesman Jim Barich. “I think we’re just showing him the site. I don’t think he’s coming down here with any specific agenda.”

Some local officials criticized the upcoming Cranston visit as an attempt to bolster the senator’s image, which has been tarnished recently by a scandal involving Lincoln Savings & Loan. Cranston and four other senators have been accused of interfering with a federal investigation of Lincoln in exchange for thousands of dollars in political contributions from owner Charles H. Keating Jr. The resulting collapse of the thrift resulted in a $2-billion loss for the federal government.

Despite skepticism about Cranston’s intentions, the senator’s visit will help attract statewide attention to an environmental issue that so far has generated mostly local interest.

Laguna Beach City Manager Kenneth C. Frank said he is sure Cranston is trying to improve his image, “but I don’t mind if it helps us. There could be an important federal role there if we come up a little short, the feds might come in and use some of their federal park monies to help us. It’s a long shot but we don’t pass up long shots.”

Laguna Beach City Council member Robert F. Gentry also welcomed the Cranston visit and encouraged other elected officials and candidates for office to tour the canyon.

“If his visit means there is a potential for preservation of Laguna Canyon by the federal government, then I’m elated,” Gentry said. “It validates it as a regional and a national issue. The fact that he’s here to review the site indicates to me that he is indeed interested in the future use of the land.”