Support the timely completion of rennovation at The Ranch at Laguna Beach

The Ranch at Laguna Beach – Petition to the California Coastal Commission to dismiss frivolous appeal to slow completion of renovation.

In light of the recent delays to The Ranch at Laguna Beach project, we are requesting the support of our local community members who believe in what we are doing to revitalize and reinvigorate this beautiful property. This project seeks to maintain and promote a pure Laguna Beach experience, foster economic growth to the city, provide local job opportunities and preserve the environmental integrity of this unique property. Residents throughout Laguna Beach have been encouraging in their support of this project over the past year, and we now ask you to show your written support with a signature below to help us deliver on our promise of creating an authentic Laguna Beach sanctuary that is mindful of our responsibility and footprint in the community. Thank you!

Quote from our Owner Mark Christy:

“Our project represents an aesthetic and environmental windfall that everyone I have spoken with has effectively described as “an answer to Laguna’s prayers”."

A few facts about what we’re doing:

• We are NOT building a new resort but rather are simply restoring the original hotel buildings and rooms. Though the room count increases, we’re doing it by splitting the old “apartment style” rooms and there is no increase in the hotel floor area
• We are maintaining the original hotel room footprints, maintaining the original rooflines and keeping the original perimeter framing of the hotel buildings approximately 98% intact.
• The work was unanimously approved by the Planning Commission (the subject of the appeal) and takes place entirely within an existing footprint that was 100% developed and virtually completely paved back in the 1960’s and which contains no endangered native plants or wildlife.
• We are replacing the tinder-dry, cracked and damaged 50-year old wood siding with fire-resistant materials
• We are installing a new fire alarm and sprinkler systems for the safety of our guests and neighbors
• We have eliminated all of the original wood-shake roofs.
• We are installing insulation and replacing the original non-tempered, single-glazed windows and sliding doors with energy efficient, tempered dual-glazed windows utilizing the original openings.
• Even with the modest new buildings proposed the project entails an over 11,000-foot reduction in the building footprints
• We are eliminating over 7,000 feet of paved, non-permeable surfaces and are replacing them with decomposed granite and other naturally draining materials, eliminating substantial runoff into the creek.
• All existing site drains will be upgraded to filtration collection boxes.
• We have undertaken a careful and sensitive pruning and cleanup of the decades-neglected vegetation, ensuring the preservation of native plants and proper maintenance of all trees and plant life on the property. All State and Federal laws regarding protection of nesting or roosting birds were followed during tree trimming. We interviewed several experienced landscape companies for the work and decided on a contractor with more than 40 years of experience and who has worked extensively with respected local Landscape Architects, including many years for tree expert and Laguna icon Fred Lang.
• After obtaining all required permits and properly giving advance notice to the appropriate agencies (including: California Coastal Commission, US Fish & Wildlife, US Army Corp of Engineers, San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board, CA Fish & Wildlife), we used only their permit-approved low-impact habitat restoration methodologies and voluntarily took efforts to eradicate invasive non-native vegetation (Arundo, Pampas Grass, etc.) in the creek bed. All creek work was conducted under the supervision of our on-site M.S. Habitat Restoration Ecologist who is highly experienced in the Aliso Creek ecosystem and surrounding sensitive species/habitat. This removal only targeted invasive, non-native vegetation and it extended through our property the same significant ecosystem benefits of the Aliso Creek Watershed Restoration that has been implemented by several public agencies and non-profit environmental partners since 2012. No other work in the sensitive creek area has occurred besides this agency-permitted ecosystem improvement.
• We plan on celebrating and respecting the property’s heritage including a plaque commemorating the original Thurston home site and restoring the long-abandoned moniker and community use of the original Camp Elizabeth Dolph. Camp Elizabeth Dolph has for decades been a dilapidated maintenance dump covered in refuse. I believe that the site should preserve and reflect its wonderful history and engage the community in the parcel’s special setting.
• We are voluntarily converting the hotel landscape irrigation to recycled water immediately where available, using drought tolerant and native plants.
• We hope to voluntarily convert the Golf Course to recycled water when the TDS water quality levels from the new treatment plant are compatible with turf. We have been closely and proactively working with SCWD and SOCWA for months to make this happen. At the moment we’re told that they are currently still in the testing stages for the new recycled water facility to ensure proper TDS levels for turf.
• We have hired a regionally-recognized Eucalyptus expert to ensure that trees on the property, including those at Camp Elizabeth Dolph, are continually monitored and maintained to ensure long, healthy lives as well as visitor safety.
• We are voluntarily reducing turf coverage by tens of thousands of feet throughout the golf course to minimize water usage.