Morning light shows victory
Over the past four years, we’ve written more than one editorial on
the eve of what appeared to be -- if you took the most rose-colored
perspective -- the end of the decades-long battle over the
development of the Bolsa Chica mesa. But by morning’s light, the
fight again was raging between the owners of the land, who wanted to
build homes there, and environmentalists who wished it left as is.
This time as we write, we believe -- as do many others -- that we
can see the first rays of the sunrise.
Last week, the California Coastal Commission approved a plan for
Hearthside Homes to build 349 high-end homes on the upper part of the
mesa. The vast majority of the mesa will remain undeveloped, a far
cry from original plans that included 5,700 homes, marinas and an
array of commercial development.
Attached to the approval were a dozen strings -- no surprise,
given the convoluted history of attempts to develop the mesa. But
with Hearthside already having made nearly 30 changes to its project,
these final hurdles would seem to be easily crossed. Hearthside Chief
Executive Officer Ray Pacini even sent out an encouraging statement
following the hearing. It read, in part: “While it is very difficult
to predict how long this process will take, we hope to begin grading
during the first half of 2006.”
Of course, versions of such statements are all too familiar. But
this time, with both sides largely in agreement, why is there any
reason to doubt?
There remain a few entrenched opponents who want to see zero
development on the Bolsa Chica and are vowing to keep up the fight.
And while we sympathize with their position, we join the vast
majority of those who wanted to see a compromise solution. The
developer, thanks to a combination of state money earned by selling
the land off as open space and the prices of the homes to be built,
is coming out of the battle financially strong. And opponents have
whittled the project down to the tiniest fraction of what was,
certainly, an overly invasive plan. They should be proud, and
satisfied, with their accomplishment.
If, that is, this really is the end.
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