HUNTINGTON BEACH : City OKs Plans for Bolsa Chica Park

The City Council has endorsed plans for the proposed 106-acre Bolsa Chica Regional Park, a thin ribbon of bluff-top land that will link Central Park to Bolsa Chica State Beach.

Plans for the long-awaited park include a 1.6-mile concrete bicycle and pedestrian trail running the length of the park. It will be along the edge of high ground to take advantage of the unobstructed vistas of the Bolsa Chica wetlands and the ocean.

There will also be a separate horse trail that will link up with a planned trail from the Huntington Beach Equestrian Center. The 10-foot wide trail will stop about 1,100 feet short of Pacific Coast Highway and Bolsa Chica State Beach. It will make a loop around an equestrian rest area that includes benches, water troughs and restrooms.

Also included in plans are play areas, picnic facilities, open meadows and vista points.

Plans also call for a 10,000-square-foot interpretive center in the park. The center will include displays of local history, oil use and geology, and will serve as a research facility for students. It will also have offices for park rangers, meeting rooms, office areas, restrooms and a 50-space parking lot.

The estimated cost of building the park is $4.5 million.

Work on initial phases of the park, geared to provide low-key recreation for Orange County residents, is expected to start late next year. But the final section of the park near Pacific Coast Highway may not be completed for 25 years until oil operations are phased out, officials said.

The plan, prepared by the county’s Department of Harbors, Beaches and Parks, requires final approval from the County Board of Supervisors and the California Coastal Commission. More than half the land is in unincorporated territory. About 40 acres are inside Huntington Beach city limits.

The proposed boundary extends from Pacific Coast Highway to about Talbert Avenue.

Most of the activity will be restricted to the bluff-top areas. The lowland areas will be devoted to environmentally sensitive areas and buffer zones.