Bolsa Chica development project on the table

Danette Goulet

The Orange County Planning Commission on Wednesday will hold a public

hearing on, and even may approve, the Brightwater Project, a development

of 387 homes on the upper bench of the Bolsa Chica Mesa.

The plan before the Planning Commission is in compliance with the

California Coastal Commission’s ruling that is, even now, held up in

litigation.

Developer Hearthside Homes and landowner Signal Landmark claim in the

suit that the commission essentially took the property from them by

restricting what could be built to the point where the development is no

longer economically feasible.

Hearthside Homes planned to build homes on 183 acres of the mesa and

was limited to 65 by the California Coastal Commission in November 2000.

Although a San Diego Superior Court Judge dismissed segments of the

complaint in August, the lawsuit goes on.

Meanwhile Hearthside Homes has submitted plans for the 65-acres.

This move has many concerned -- especially members of the Bolsa Chica

Land Trust, a group organized solely for the purpose of trying to acquire

and preserve the Bolsa Chica.

“We don’t think it’s appropriate to be moving forward on the planning

process on the upper bench, when they are still in litigation on the

lower bench,” said Evan Henry, president of the land trust.

Lucy Dunn, president of Hearthside Homes, declined to comment

Wednesday.

A major concern, Henry said, is that the Coastal Commission granted

permission to build on the upper bench, which also contains

environmentally sensitive areas, as a trade off for saving the lower

bench. By moving forward with development before courts have a reached a

verdict on the Coastal Commissions ruling, that trade off may not be

taken into consideration down the road.

Land trust members also feel that the environmental report is

deficient, Henry said, and that the historical significance of the site

demands more attention.

“It is an archeological site, which they continue to dig up and

destroy,” he said. “We don’t think they’ve done proper mitigation or

monitoring.”

An 18-acre section of the upper mesa, known to researcher as “ORA-83”,

was deemed eligible to be on the National Historic Site Registry by the

state Historic Preservation Commission in November. An abundance of

artifacts found on the site suggests that the Native American village

that thrived there more than 8,000 years ago was significant.

Land trust members, and those who would save the mesa, are put off by

what they call the “piecemeal tactics” Hearthside Homes is using to build

there.

“What this is leading to is poor planning,” Councilwoman Connie

Boardman said.

But Councilwoman Shirley Dettloff, who will have to vote on the plans

as Coastal Commissioner if the Brightwater Project gains approval, said

that Hearthside Homes is not only well within its rights, but that the

move is a common one.

“I’ve seen many property owners take the step they are taking now --

it’s pretty common, or ordinary, among developers,” Dettloff said. “But

I’ve also seen property with the dirt almost turned over and the

acquisition goes through.”

FYI

WHO: The Orange County Planning Commission

WHAT: Regular meeting

WHEN: Wednesday, May, 8 at 1:30 p.m.

WHERE: Orange County Planning Commission Hearing room, 10 Civic Center

Plaza, Santa Ana