A Dana Point City Council discussion originally scheduled for next week has been delayed, and it appears the final recommendation to city leaders will be to preserve about 70 mature pine trees during the Lantern Bay Park renovation.
The neighboring Laguna Cliffs Marriott is undergoing a $60 million renovation and has agreed to help fund about $1 million toward park improvements.
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A group of residents stands next to Torrey pines, a rare, native, and endangered species of tree, at Lantern Bay Park in Dana Point on Wednesday, October 14, 2026. They are angry about a plan to renovate the park, which will eliminate the decades-old trees, with funding help from the adjacent Laguna Cliffs Marriott. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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A group of residents stands next to Torrey pines, a rare, native, and endangered species of tree, at Lantern Bay Park in Dana Point on Wednesday, October 14, 2026. They are angry about a plan to renovate the park, which will eliminate the decades-old trees, with funding help from the adjacent Laguna Cliffs Marriott. (Photo by Mindy Schauer, Orange County Register/SCNG)
When those park plans were released at the beginning of the month, residents noticed the Torrey and stone pines weren’t included and raised the alarm, descending on the next council meeting to appeal for their preservation.
Councilmembers Mike Frost and Matthew Pagano were tasked with creating a subcommittee to look at the plans and work with the resort on a compromise.
Pagano said Thursday that the subcommittee will recommend saving the trees, adding that, as someone who grew up in Dana Point, he shares the view of those who’ve rallied to keep them.
He said typically the recommendation from a council subcommittee “is generally filled.”
Resident Gwen Oxenham said she read the city’s agenda report on the park renovation when it came out and saw that a conceptual drawing the Marriott presented didn’t include the trees.
“It never said how many were being removed,” she said, adding that her husband alerted her, knowing she’d been upset when trees were removed along the Promenade on Forest in Laguna Beach over the summer during its construction — new trees were included.
The park beneath the Marriott and overlooking Dana Point Harbor is extra special to her, Oxenham said; she visits it often and has held her sons’ birthday parties there. She’s witnessed proposals and graduations there, she said, and calls it a “little pocket of Carmel, here in Dana Point that’s secret and special.”
“We had heard that they were going to revamp the park and none of us were against it,” she added. “But there was no mention of large-scale tree removal. When I saw the plans, I went to the park, went on the hill, took a picture, and went back to the plan and was like, ‘Oh my god, it’s all of these trees.’ That’s when I made a Nextdoor post and ended with, ‘ We just lost our trees in the harbor.’”
Since the early October meeting that prompted the council to form the subcommittee, Oxenham and Alex Katona have led efforts to alert the community, which they said they found was largely unaware of the park renovation plan.
They shared information on social media and Nextdoor, and a collaboration with USA soccer star Julie Foudy in San Clemente netted more than 100,000 views on Instagram alone.
On Saturday, Oct. 10, they held a rally at the park and collected more than 3,000 signatures opposing the tree removal. Another rally is still planned for this Saturday, Oct. 17.
“Since I’ve been on council, this is the most community groundswell we’ve seen,” Pagano said.
The subcommittee will be holding a question-and-answer session for the community on Nov. 1, ahead of the Nov. 17 council meeting, he said.
“I want them to know that whatever we get at that meeting, we’ll take back to the council at large,” he said. “I know they’re listening to the community. So, it’s not just the subcommittee; the rest of the council is very aware and hearing this too.”
The county previously maintained the park, but Dana Point has since taken it over.
City staffers have been recommending a major upgrade to update the park and because the Marriott is undergoing its renovation, which also includes new water lines installed by the South Coast Water District in the park, staff said the resort agreed, in coordination with the city, to fund and build the park improvements.
The proposal includes rebuilding the amphitheater and creating a rose garden, along with a botanical garden featuring local plants. Staff in the recently released proposal said, “The large trees, planted when they were about 4 feet tall, no longer fit the coastal vistas and the coastal sage scrub habitat of the surrounding area.”
The residents disagree, with Katona arguing, “As our climate keeps changing, I think it’s more important than ever to protect our resources.”
“There’s something majestic about mature trees that you just can’t get in construction or looking at a sapling,” Pagano said, adding that during his recent meeting with Marriott officials, “They could not have been more agreeable.”
Pagano said the resort’s response was, “‘We want the residents to feel this is a place where they can come and enjoy the amenities. We don’t want to be mired in controversy.’ They came across as very genuine.”
On Thursday, Oxenham said she is encouraged that the two council members are now recommending that “the trees be preserved.”
“I love that they listened to the outcry and that the whole community came together,” she said. “I’m dang hopeful that the rest of the council passes that recommendation on Nov. 17. But won’t feel safe until then.”