Bolsa Chica fate on horizon

Eron Ben-Yehuda

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- A city subcommittee last week drafted a set of

recommendations for the proposed development of 1,200 homes on the Bolsa

Chica mesa, including increasing the buffer zone between the development

and sensitive habitats.

The subcommittee also is recommending further study of the archeological

significance of the site, with the intention of possibly preserving some

part, and is suggesting city staff review the possibility of releasing

runoff farther away from the wetlands.

The recommendations will be presented to the City Council for review Jan.

3, then passed on to the Coastal Commission, which will consider the

development proposal sometime in mid-January.

The commission, a state board that examines costal development plans,

must approve the project before it receives final approval from the

county.

Plans for the development allow for 50-foot-wide buffers, but the

subcommittee said buffers of 100 meters, about 330 feet, would be better.

An American Indian who spoke at the meeting told of the effect building

the homes would have on her ancestral land. Human remains believed to be

thousands of years old have been found on the mesa.

“You people don’t have a right to destroy our history,” said Lillian

Robles, of the Juaneno tribe.

As for Hearthside’s plan for dealing with runoff, the developer --

formerly known as the Koll Real Estate Group -- plans to dispose of it

through outfall pipes that drain into the Outer Bolsa Bay.

Because contaminants may upset the delicate balance of the wetlands, the

subcommittee asked city staff to look at alternatives that will release

the runoff farther away.

The commission will meet sometime between Jan. 11 and 14 in Santa Monica,

although no specific date or place has been set.