HUNTINGTON BEACH : Koll Criticized for Jurisdictional Move

The Koll Co. came under criticism this week by an environmental group and a federal agency over its effort to seek county approval for a plan to build as many as 4,884 houses on land around the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve.

In a statement issued Friday, the Amigos de Bolsa Chica environmental group said it believes that the city of Huntington Beach, not the county, should have prime jurisdiction over the Koll project.

The environmental group also said a landmark agreement, signed by a coalition made up of the developer, environmentalists and government officials in 1989, does not guarantee any “set number of housing units.”

The agreement, hammered out after two decades, established general guidelines for developing the 1,700 acres that includes the Bolsa Chica wetlands. Although the land is in an unincorporated area, it had been agreed upon verbally that the city would be the lead regulating agency.

The Koll Co. surprised city officials by announcing last month that it would make Orange County the lead agency overseeing the project.

The Amigos’ statement criticized that move, saying the organization believes that “the city should retain the lead agency status.”

“From the beginning of the coalition, it was anticipated that the city would be the lead agency because the Bolsa Chica is in the city’s sphere of influence,” the Amigos’ statement said.

Lucy Dunn, senior vice president of the Koll Co., said Friday that the Amigos’ statement was in error. “The coalition originally had the county as the lead agency,” she said.

Earlier in the week, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials in Carlsbad sent a letter that criticized the Koll Co.’s jurisdictional move. The letter was addressed to Board of Supervisors Chairman Harriett M. Wieder.

“The (U.S. Fish and Wildlife) Service opinion has been and continues to be that the Koll Co.’s proposed project at Bolsa Chica cannot obtain necessary state and federal permits,” the letter says.

In rebuttal Friday, Dunn said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is commenting before all the facts are available.

She noted that the revised environmental impact report on the Bolsa Chica project has not yet been completed.

“As for their predicting the state won’t grant permits, I just can’t understand how a federal agency can make such predictions,” Dunn said.