SEAL BEACH : Port Decides Not to Restore Wetlands

In a blow to local environmentalists, Port of Long Beach officials say they won’t consider restoring the 100 acres of historical wetlands on the Hellman Ranch property.

The Wetlands Restoration Society has been lobbying to have the wetlands restored instead of allowing a $200-million housing development to be built on the property. But port officials said in a letter to the group that the restoration would be too expensive.

“The cost to carry out the 100-acre development would be approximately $28 million” excluding the cost of the land, said Geraldine Knatz, planning director for the Port of Long Beach.

“We have just completed a 111-acre restoration in Seal Beach for approximately $6 million. Surely you can understand that when it comes to the preservation of wetlands we try to achieve the maximum habitat value for our dollar.”

To compensate for the taking of coastal property by projects such as the port, state law requires the restoration of other, deteriorated coastal land such as the Hellman Ranch wetlands.

Galen Ambrose, vice president of the Wetlands Restoration Society, said the group will continue to seek funding for the restoration project.

Mola Development Corp. holds an option on 149 acres of the Hellman Ranch property, 100 of which are considered to be historical wetlands. Mola has tentative plans to build a 329-unit residential development and to restore 41 acres of wetlands on the parcel.

The project, which gained City Council approval last September after four years of discussion, is now before the council again because of a Wetlands Restoration Society suit charging the city with illegally approving the project while a state-required local housing plan was out of date.

Last month, Orange County Superior Court Commissioner Ronald L. Bauer ruled in favor of the society, saying that such projects can’t be approved until the plan is updated.

Since then, Seal Beach has submitted an updated housing plan to the state. Last week state officials said that the plan was inadequate and that the city failed to show enough commitment to providing affordable housing.