Bolsa lawsuit near its end

Jose Paul Corona

A San Diego Superior Court judge tentatively ruled that the

California Coastal Commission did not overstep its bounds by limiting

Hearthside Homes development of the Bolsa Chica mesa.

The loss of the two-year lawsuit would mean Hearthside could

either submit a new development plan to the coastal commission, or

sell the property.

Superior Court Judge Sheridan Reed ruled that since the coastal

commission was merely making a recommendation rather than a

determination, it could not be overstepping its bounds.

“Signal itself never applied to the commission for a coastal

development permit for residential development on the Bolsa Chica

mesa,” Reed’s tentative ruling reads. “Under these facts, Signal’s

writ must be denied.”

A final ruling is expected on the controversial suit in the next

few weeks.

Hearthside has not decided what it will do next, said Lucy Dunn,

vice president of the development company.

“The first step is to wait for the ruling to become final,” she

said. “We’re looking at it internally.”

An attorney for the coastal commission didn’t have any comment on

the tentative ruling.

Although Hearthside lost the case, Dunn sees it as a victory.

“It gives us a clean slate in which to submit a new development

plan for our property,” Dunn said.

Coastal Commissioner Shirley Dettloff, who also sits on the

Huntington Beach City Council, said if the developer decides to

submit new plans, the commission will review them fairly and

objectively -- just, she said, as it did last time.

“When this went to court, I wasn’t very concerned. We followed a

logical path and, obviously, the judge agrees,” she said. “The

commission staff spent months coming to these conclusions.”

The lawsuit stems from the coastal commission’s unanimous

recommendation in November 2000 that development of the 183-acre mesa

be limited to 65 homes, leaving the lower bench of the mesa as a

foraging area for raptors.

The commission also recommended that houses be limited to three

stories and required that a scenic road be built through the upper

mesa and improvements be made to the intersection of the Garden Grove

and San Diego freeways.

Hearthside homes contended that such a plan was not financially

feasible and filed the lawsuit claiming that the coastal commission

was, in essence, taking its land without payment.

Plans to build on Bolsa Chica go back more than 30 years, when the

1,200 acres that make up the area were originally purchased.

Environmental groups such as Amigos de Bolsa Chica and the Bolsa

Chica Land Trust have been seeking to protect the area from

development.

“We’re cautiously optimistic, but very happy,” Paul Horgan, a land

trust board member said of the ruling.

While the ruling falls in line with the group’s plan, Horgan is

waiting for the final decision before he gets too excited, he said,

adding that, however unlikely, the judge could change her ruling.

“From what I understand this is a very thoughtful judge. She

didn’t issue that tentative ruling lightly,” Horgan said.

The judge also ruled that there is no current local coastal plan

in existence for the city. The only approved plan that is still in

effect dates back to 1986, and both sides agree that it is no longer

feasible.

* JOSE PAUL CORONA covers City Hall and education. He can be

reached at (714) 965-7173 or by e-mail at jose.corona@latimes.com.