Model homes by the mesa meet with protest

Kenneth Ma

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- Several dozen local environmentalists and

concerned residents stood at the corner of Los Patos Avenue and Bolsa

Chica Street on Friday to protest the unveiling of 16 homes adjacent to

the Bolsa Chica mesa.

Developed by Hearthside Homes, the four- or five-bedroom,

38,000-square-foot family houses, are models of what the company wants to

build on the Bolsa Chica mesa. The Hampton-style homes are valued at an

average of $800,000 each.”These houses should not have been here,” said

Doug Korthof, a protester from Seal Beach.

The City Council approved the model homes last year. The California

Coastal Commission is expected to decide in October whether Hearthside

can proceed with its plans to build up to 1,235 homes on the mesa. The

project has been the subject of rancorous debate for a number of years.

Project detractors say building homes would negatively affect the

wildlife on the mesa and would destroy American Indian artifacts that may

be found there.

But a Hearthside official said building the 16 homes has been

litigated and decided in court. The rest will be decided later this year.

Superior Court Judge William MacDonald ruled in favor of Hearthside

Homes in a lawsuit filed by the Bolsa Chica Land Trust last year. The

suit contended that development of the 6-acre property may destroy “rare”

pieces of American Indian history after ancient human remains and

artifacts were discovered on the site.

The protesters “are good people,” said Lucy Dunn, Hearthside’s

executive vice president. “I guess we just disagree.”

On Thursday, nearly 135 people filled a meeting room at City Hall to

hear members of the Bolsa Chica Land Trust and the Orange County chapter

of the Sierra Club speak about preserving the mesa.

The two groups asked people to attend a Coastal Commission meeting

Aug. 9 in at the Waterfront Hilton in a show of support. So far, 118

people have signed a commitment form to attend.

“Nobody wins a battle by acting at the last minute,” said Evan Henry,

president of the Bolsa Chica Land Trust.