City of Monterey in talks to restore Laguna Grande Park to wetlands
Monterey has seen a city-wide uptick in crime and one area is being hit especially hard.
Wednesday, city officials say they’ve heard those concerns and are working to make changes.
That area is near the Laguna Grande Park. Officials say they’ve heard the concerns of residents and are in the early stages of a plan to revitalize the area.
Monterey Police say the crime level in the city is climbing.
“Especially in property crimes here on the peninsula and the city of Monterey in particular over the last year or two,” said assistant police chief Bill Clark.
Residents in the area of Laguna Grande park say their neighborhood has seen a good share of it.
On Monday, Monterey Police say they were called to a home on English Avenue after a homeowner confronted a would-be burglar.
KION was also sent dozens of emails from residents telling the mayor and police department of crimes they’ve seen.
Though those who we reached out to didn’t wish to speak on camera, city officials say they’re already at work on resident’s concerns.
“Some of the issues that we heard about Laguna Grande park have involved the homelessness, minor crime issues, some property crime issues,” Clark said, “Mainly it’s the homelessness issue.”
City of Monterey mayor Clyde Roberson says they’re working with the Regional Park District on a plan to restore the park as a wetlands.
“We really do need to restore the wetlands,” Roberson said, “It’s unsanitary because of illegal activity there and it’s not good for people who are forced to live there and it’s certainly not good for our neighborhoods.”
Though much of the park falls in Seaside, the mayor says the city of Monterey is willing to take the lead on the restoration.
“Restoring the wetlands,will [make it] much easier to patrol and eliminate all the illegal activity that goes on in there and that is intolerable not only to the neighbors, to the city at large, and terrible for the wetlands,” Roberson said.
In addition to their work around Laguna Grande, police have launched extra patrols city-wide to reduce property crime.
Close to two dozen arrests have already been made.
