Save Crystal Cove’s Great Cultural Resource

Re “Crystal Cove’s Future Is Subject of Hearing,” Nov. 1:

After attending the Crystal Cove workshop, I am completely overwhelmed by the fact that state parks officials have mismanaged Crystal Cove the way they have. There was not a mention of “community” in their proposal.

The people of California, as well as visitors from other places, should be able to learn from the existing historic community that would evolve naturally at Crystal Cove. It is ridiculous to think that those fragile cottages could be used as overnight accommodations.

It is a waste of a magnificent cultural resource that will be lost forever if the people of California and especially the local residents don’t wise up. Crystal Cove is like a beautiful tapestry, but when all the people of California get a piece of it, it will be in shreds.

It would be nice if everyone could have everything, but we can’t.

By opening these irreplaceable historic cottages to the public, we not only lose the historic community, we lose the cottages.

They will no longer be single-family dwellings in their historic sense.

Although many citizens are in favor of a longer-term, rent-paying, steward-type program, no mention was made nor was there anything written on the workshop worksheets proposing that type of program. With budget constraints and funding problems, longer-term leases would be the logical idea. A self-supporting community.

I say get the place livable and get a viable community back in there to be keepers of the cottages in a self-supporting manner.

When vacancies come up, open up the leasing on a lottery basis.

Use some cottages for cultural and environmental visitor enrichment, and possibly one as an experimental overnight cottage.

Please don’t open these fragile cottages to the public.

Val Carson

Newport Beach