Bolsa Chica activists to protest inside Brightwater development Saturday

Native Americans and local land preservation groups who have been protesting a Bolsa Chica housing development on Wednesdays will now protest on the first Saturday of every month — and plan to bring their demonstrations into the development they oppose.

Hearthside Homes’ Brightwater, the project in question, sits on land that held at least 174 sets of ancient remains and thousands of artifacts. Protesters oppose both the removal of the remains and what they call a lack of proper reporting of what was dug up.

Paul Moreno, on the board of the California Cultural Resources Preservation Alliance, said the group was continuing its protest of the remains that were removed from the site. The group has been protesting since the beginning of June on a corner near the site, but now plan to protest from inside the development, Moreno said.

“The ideal thing would be for them not to continue to develop on the site,” he said. “We’re hoping that at least Brightwater might set aside some land and put a cultural center there.”

Moreno said he hopes the protests will also raise awareness.

“There’s no other site like this in the whole world. It would be a shame to have it disappear,” Moreno said. “There might be people that are looking to buy homes there, and they have no clue what they are buying on.”

Hearthside Homes officials have previously stated the company followed all legal requirements in dealing with ancient remains and kept in constant communication with tribal representatives.

The protest group will gather at 10 a.m. Saturday at Bolsa Chica Street and Warner Avenue in Huntington Beach. For more information, call 949-228-7262 or e-mail bigrockcreek@msn.com.

--Jennifer Frehn and Michael Alexander