HUNTINGTON BEACH : Mediator Hired for Wetlands Meetings

In hopes of attaining a speedy resolution to the dispute over development in the Huntington Beach wetlands, the city has hired a consultant to mediate meetings of the coalition organized to settle the issue.

Greg Vail, who previously worked as a consultant to Signal Landmark Co. and Orange County in the early stages of the successful Bolsa Chica wetlands settlement talks, is scheduled to begin his role with the Pacific Coast Highway Coalition at the group’s next meeting, March 15.

Vail, co-owner of Vail Speck Taylor Inc., an Irvine-based land consulting firm, will help guide coalition members through discussions of divisive issues, advise them on coastal laws and act as a liaison among the environmentalists, property owners and various government agency officials who compose the group, said Ruth Lambert, a city senior planner.

The coalition decided at its first meeting last month to hire an outside mediator, Lambert said. The group will attempt to balance property owners’ desire to develop their land with environmentalists’ desire to restore at least a portion of 142-acre area. Vail was chosen largely because of his experience with the Bolsa Chica Wetlands Coalition, she said.