E-mail
Print
A developer was ordered Thursday to pay coastal regulators a $250,000 settlement for draining a Huntington Beach wetland and trying to build a parking lot in its place.
Beachfront Village LLC, formerly Mills PCH LLC, agreed to pay the penalty for draining, filling in and leveling a 2-acre salt marsh next to the Cabrillo Mobile Home Park near Pacific Coast Highway and Newland Street.
The company didn't seek a permit before starting construction in February 2008. After halting the work, the California Coastal Commission in April ordered the company to restore the environmentally sensitive area.
After hearing public testimony in Long Beach this week, commissioners for the state panel expressed concern that the suggested original fine, $125,000, was too low.
Commissioner William A. Burke said it would give the impression that it's "easier to ask forgiveness from the Coastal Commission than it is to ask for permission."
Oceanside Councilwoman Esther Sanchez, a panel member, called the original settlement a "slap on the hand."
Beachfront Village negotiated with Coastal Commission staff overnight and agreed to double the penalty and add a provision that it would remove gravel that remains on the site.
A company representative did not respond to calls and an e-mail Thursday.
Lisa Haage, the commission's chief of enforcement, said the increased fine should send a strong message to companies hoping to pave even small, isolated patches of coastal habitat.
"You need a penalty that's big enough to be a deterrent, and I think a quarter of a million does it here," she said.
tony.barboza@latimes.com
Beachfront Village LLC, formerly Mills PCH LLC, agreed to pay the penalty for draining, filling in and leveling a 2-acre salt marsh next to the Cabrillo Mobile Home Park near Pacific Coast Highway and Newland Street.
The company didn't seek a permit before starting construction in February 2008. After halting the work, the California Coastal Commission in April ordered the company to restore the environmentally sensitive area.
After hearing public testimony in Long Beach this week, commissioners for the state panel expressed concern that the suggested original fine, $125,000, was too low.
Commissioner William A. Burke said it would give the impression that it's "easier to ask forgiveness from the Coastal Commission than it is to ask for permission."
Oceanside Councilwoman Esther Sanchez, a panel member, called the original settlement a "slap on the hand."
Beachfront Village negotiated with Coastal Commission staff overnight and agreed to double the penalty and add a provision that it would remove gravel that remains on the site.
A company representative did not respond to calls and an e-mail Thursday.
Lisa Haage, the commission's chief of enforcement, said the increased fine should send a strong message to companies hoping to pave even small, isolated patches of coastal habitat.
"You need a penalty that's big enough to be a deterrent, and I think a quarter of a million does it here," she said.
tony.barboza@latimes.com
Digg
Twitter
Facebook
StumbleUpon
Save more than