State May Delay Evictions From Crystal Cove, Residents Say

CRYSTAL COVE —  Crystal Cove residents, who are defying eviction by the state from their homes on public parkland, said Thursday they may win a delay before they are forced to leave.

The state Department of Parks and Recreation has shown a willingness to meet residents’ demands that they be allowed to stay in the scenic oceanfront cottages until officials start a project to turn the area into a resort, resident Walter T. Shatford said.

“We feel it is a constructive response to what we were asking for, which is to stay here until they begin working on the cottages,” he said.

Shatford said state officials have asked that details of the negotiations be kept secret.

State parks officials, who as recently as last week said they were moving along with eviction plans, did not return repeated phone calls Thursday.

Work on the cottages is not expected to begin for several months, the amount of time residents could remain here if the state agrees.

About 75 full-time cove residents were ordered to move from their homes by New Year’s Eve, but not a single family packed up. Residents, who pay rents ranging from $380 to $2,000 a month to live on some of the most scenic coastline in the county, said they feared the cottages would fall into disrepair if abandoned.

Aside from the views, the cottages hold intense sentimental value for cove families, many of whom have lived or vacationed in the area for generations.

“We’re very pleased,” Shatford said.