Shea project returns to council

The City Council plans to vote tonight on a revised proposal for a development near the Bolsa Chica wetlands, in the latest chapter of a saga that has pitted developers and city officials against activists keen on preserving the land.

Members of the Bolsa Chica Land Trust said they plan to attend tonight’s meeting to voice their opposition to the proposal by Corona-based Shea Homes, which plans to erect 111 single-family residential lots on the property east of the wetlands and south of Kenilworth Drive. The City Council approved a plan from Shea in 2002, but the California Coastal Commission modified the proposal last year to include fewer home lots and more open space.

Last summer, the council voted to approve a broad version of the revised plan. The proposal before the council tonight is a more detailed version that lays out streets, parks and open-space areas.

Even with the increases in open space, the Bolsa Chica Land Trust is urging residents to show up and protest the project, claiming that the construction could lead to drying out of wetlands and other environmental impacts.

“The Bolsa Chica Land Trust has consistently been supporting the preservation of the entire upper wetlands,” Executive Director Flossie Horgan said. “Our mission is to preserve the entire 1,700 acres, so we have been consistently working hard with a lot of energy and resources to save the Shea property.”

However, Laer Pearce, a spokesman for Shea Homes, said his group has more than considered the environmental consequences of the project.

“If you look at the groundwater situation, we’ve been monitoring groundwater for 10 years, and we know exactly what’s going on,” he said.

He added that while he sympathized with opponents of the development, he didn’t believe any of their major concerns hadn’t been addressed in reports and public hearings over the last few years.

“It’s not new, shocking stuff at all,” Pearce said.

If the council approves the project tonight, Shea will still need to return to the Coastal Commission and get other approvals before proceeding with construction. With the state’s economic troubles, Pearce said, he couldn’t speculate on when work would actually begin.

City staff has recommended that the council approve the revised proposal, citing the project’s compliance with the city’s general plan and the fact that nearly half the project area — some 23.1 acres — will be preserved as open space.

Mayor Keith Bohr, who supports the project, says he expects it to pass the council.

“My guess is it would go through tonight,” he said. “The folks who want zero [development] aren’t going to be happy, but I think it’s a pretty nice compromise from where we started.”

The City Council meeting begins at 6 p.m. tonight.

City Editor MICHAEL MILLER can be reached at (714) 966-4617 or at michael.miller@latimes.com.