Coastal panel postpones decision on Bolsa Chica

The California Coastal Commission on Wednesday postponed deciding the fate of a housing development slated for 50 acres near the Bolsa Chica wetlands.

Developer Shea Homes had asked for the delay after commission staff recommended that the project be shrunk from 38 to 17 acres. Commission attorneys said that under the Coastal Act, the only way to put off a decision was for Shea and the city to resubmit the proposal. Huntington Beach would also need to hold a public hearing on the project.

But in a 9-3 vote, the commission pushed the Shea plan to its fall calendar, when it can consider the matter in Southern California. The board majority said the developer had too little time to respond to the staff’s recommendations.