HUNTINGTON BEACH : Hearing Called on Nesting-Site Charges

A developer accused of cutting down active nesting places of hawks in northwest Huntington Beach is under scrutiny by the city’s Planning Commission.

The commission on Tuesday night voted 7 to 0 to hold a public hearing April 16 to determine whether developer David Dahl’s conditional-use permit should be revoked.

Dahl has denied that any active nesting areas were destroyed when some of his workmen trimmed trees on March 7. The site is near the intersection of Golden West and Edwards streets--former oil-well land that Dahl proposes developing into single-family homes called Central Park Estates.

The Planning Commission permit restricts tree cutting, primarily to preserve nesting sites. Dahl on Wednesday said: “Some live trees were cut down, but I think it’s a matter of interpretation about when a nesting period begins and ends. I don’t believe we violated the conditional-use permit.”

The dispute arose after some residents in a nearby development, Country View Estates, saw tree cutting at the Central Park Estates site and complained to city and state officials. One Country View Estates resident, Debbie Cook, spokeswoman for Save Our Parks, charged that Dahl’s workmen had “butchered” live, mature trees and had also destroyed active nesting sites.

Dahl has repeatedly said his workmen did not harm any active bird-nesting locations.

The state Fish and Game Department announced last week that it is investigating the tree-cutting controversy. Curt Taucher, a spokesman for the department, said destruction of a hawk nest is forbidden by state law.