HUNTINGTON BEACH : Koll to Work With City on Bolsa Chica

A Koll Co. official on Monday said the development firm is still committed to working with Huntington Beach city government, rather than county officials, in seeking approval for new homes in the Bolsa Chica wetlands area.

Lucy Dunn, a Koll vice president, said, however, that the company always has the option of going to the county because Bolsa Chica is unincorporated land. “But we have always planned on working with the city, and we look forward to dealing with the City Council,” Dunn said.

Koll has plans to build 4,884 new homes on private land surrounding the state-owned Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve. That reserve contains Southern California’s largest and most important wetlands.

The Koll plan calls for building the new homes and helping to restore degraded wetlands in the area. The development proposal evolved from a coalition compromise agreed upon by environmentalists, landowners and government agencies in 1989. Part of that agreement called for the developer to go through Huntington Beach for permit approvals, instead of through county government.

Huntington Beach has taken initial steps toward annexing the Bolsa Chica area, but the land is still under county jurisdiction.

Dunn said Monday that Koll still has the option of going through the County Board of Supervisors for permit approvals if negotiations with Huntington Beach government fall apart, but she said that prospect is unlikely.

“Every one on the City Council has said they think the plan can provide for a mix of restored wetlands and new homes, and that’s exactly what we in the Koll Co. are saying,” Dunn said. “We think a feasible plan can be produced, and the Koll Co. is pleased to be working with the city of Huntington Beach.”

Since the city elections Nov. 3, the City Council has acquired a 5-2 majority of slow-growth council members. One of the new council members, Ralph Bauer, has specifically said he favors cutting down the size of the proposed development to about 1,000 or fewer homes.

Dunn, however, said she views all of the council members as being fair and open-minded on the Bolsa Chica issue.

“I’ve talked with council members, and I look forward to working with them,” Dunn said.