Bill would protect sand dunes

A seven-acre patch of sand dunes in Southwest Huntington Beach

would be set aside as protected land under a bill introduced by

Assemblyman Tom Harman.

On Dec. 2, Harman introduced Assembly Bill 13, which would

authorize the California Department of Transportation to hand over

the property to a local nonprofit group. Harman introduced a

preliminary version of the bill and is still fine-tuning the exact

language.

“Caltrans should not be in the business of managing a sand dunes

area,” Harman said. “That’s not their job.”

After the transfer, the Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy

would be responsible for maintaining and protecting the land, which

is situated between Pacific Coast Highway and the AES Huntington

Beach power plant.

Caltrans bought the land bought the land several years ago, when

the agency widened Pacific Coast Highway.

“It is imperative that organizations such as [the conservancy] be

afforded the opportunity to care for and maintain these lands,” said

Gary Gorman, the conservancy’s president. “That’s the reason [the

conservancy] was founded.”

State regulators working on Ascon agreement

Officials with the state’s Department of Toxic Substances Control

are eyeing January for a potential agreement with the handful of oil

and chemical companies that contributed to the Ascon toxic waste

dump, a spokeswoman said.

These nine companies, a roster of industrial giants that includes

Chevron and Texaco, are moving toward signing an agreement to clean

up the noxious styrene pit, oily lagoons and other waste they

unloaded on the property for five decades.

Earlier this year, the companies hired a Fullerton-based

environmental firm to perform tests of the soil and groundwater to

determine the nature of the contamination.

The clean-up is estimated to cost between $31 million and $75

million.

In related news, a potential purchaser of the land allowed an

option to buy the property lapse.

Developer Enfra LLC had secured a six-month option from landowner

Beach Coast Properties earlier this year, but has balked at

purchasing the property until the state completes its deal with the

companies.

A string of earlier developers went bankrupt after buying the

property, then buckling under the high cost of cleanup.

Without funding from the oil companies, the property would

probably not be cleaned up and developed, Enfra project manager Bret

Braden said.

“When I add in the financial commitment from the oil companies,

the door opens,” Braden said. “We still have great interest in this

property.”

Federal court rules anti-banner suit moot

A federal district court judge has thrown out a lawsuit

challenging the city’s defunct anti-banner law.

Federal District Court Judge Alice Marie Stotler tossed out the

suit, which had been filed by Gregg Cunningham and the Center for

Bio-Ethical Reform Inc.

The City Council repealed its law banning aerial advertising Nov.

18, after the Federal Aviation Administration clarified language in

federal law that makes it the sole arbiter in questions of airspace.

Stotler declared the lawsuit moot, since the law is now off the

books.

“We’re very pleased with the result,” City Atty. Jennifer McGrath

said. “Once we were apprised of the change in regulation, there was

no reason to proceed at the district court level.”

However, Cunningham forced Stotler’s hand when he refused to

withdraw the suit.

Gas line severed, homes evacuated

No one was injured Wednesday when a road construction crew severed

a natural gas line while working.

An off-duty fireman reported the rupture at 2:04 p.m. Wednesday,

when he drove by and noticed the odor.

The crew, a private contractor working for the city, severed the

underground line with Caterpillar while digging up asphalt at the

intersection of Huntington Street and Adams Avenue, said Tony Smith,

spokesman for the Fire Department.

Fire officials evacuated 55 people from two apartment complexes in

the area to a boys and girls club nearby.

Huntington’s beaches get swept clean

About 50 Edison High School students joined a Costa Mesa

environmental group’s effort to clean up trash from Huntington State

Beach on Saturday.

Earth Resource Foundation, based in Costa Mesa, sponsored the

event, called “Human Broom Beach Cleanup.”

Students and group leaders met at the state beach, at Brookhurst

Street and Pacific Coast Highway, at 8:30 a.m. Saturday and began

picking up trash from the sand.

The students also picked up trash from the Santa Ana River

Jetties, in Newport Beach, said Stephanie Barger, the group’s

executive director.

More than 200 students from all over Orange County participated in

the event, including about 70 students from Newport Harbor High

School and Corona del Mar High School.

The students were separated from their friends to help teach them

about environmental problems in other parts of the county.

“The students did not clean up the trash with their friends,”

Barger said. “They got to meet kids from other schools and hear what

their concerns were.”

Brookhurst road work nearly finished

The Public Works Department is finishing construction on the final

segment of road improvements on Brookhurst Street, south of Adams

Avenue.

The improvements are being funded with city money and a grant from

the Orange County Transportation Authority, which has given funding

for 14 street rehabilitation projects over the last three fiscal

years.

As part of the work, city crews fill cracks, grind down uneven

patches, rebuild some sections of pavement and lay new asphalt over

the top of the old.

The rehabilitation project is expected to increase the life of the

streets by 10 to 20 years.

The next project will bring improvements to sections of Warner

Avenue and Newland Street.

On Warner, the section running from Springdale Street to Beach

Boulevard will be upgraded. On Newland, the section from Hamilton

Avenue to Atlanta Avenue will be upgraded.

Beach improvement plans now available

Plans for the second phase of the beach improvements are now

available for review at the front counter of the Public Works

Department at City Hall.

The project, for which bids were due on Dec. 10, includes the construction of new plaza areas, a new lifeguard headquarters, an

education center and a parking lot. Grading and drainage of

facilities will be done.

The current lifeguard headquarters, two restrooms and a concession

stand will be demolished along with the concrete, asphalt, lighting

and landscaping in the parking lot.

A temporary pedestrian walkway and bike path will be built during

the construction.

Construction, which will contain art elements that will complement

the beach theme at Pier Plaza, should cost about $9 million, city

officials estimate.

The project will be awarded in early January. Construction is

expected to last about 14 months.