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.