HUNTINGTON BEACH : Bolsa Chica Regional Park Plan Approved

After lengthy debate, the City Council has approved the county’s plans for the first phase of a long-proposed Bolsa Chica Regional Park.

The 106-acre park would be county-owned and maintained open space on the southeast edge of the state’s Bolsa Chica wetlands reserve. Since some of the acreage is within Huntington Beach’s boundaries, the city’s approval was needed for the plans.

The city Planning Commission rejected the county’s plans, 4-2, on March 1. But the City Council at its Monday night meeting overturned the Planning Commission action, 4-3.

The council majority insisted on some changes in the wording of the county’s plans. The amendments and lengthy debate so irritated Councilmen Earle Robitaille and Jim Silva that they voted against the overall proposal in protest.

“I’m not against the park,” said Silva, after the meeting. “I voted against (the amended plan) because I don’t think you try to change five years of planning work while sitting here at a council meeting.”

Robitaille similarly said he voted against the park plan because of the amendments inserted by the council majority. “I’m not sure what’s in there (the park plan) now,” Robitaille said.

Councilman David Sullivan said he voted against the plan because he thinks more protection is needed for an existing ravine in the proposed park.

Mayor Linda Moulton-Patterson, Councilwoman Grace Winchell and Councilmen Ralph Bauer and Victor Leipzig voted in favor of the plan.

The county’s park proposal divided environmental groups. Representatives of the Sierra Club spoke Monday night against the plan. They urged the City Council to keep the land as natural open space, not a park.

Bruce Monroe, one of the Sierra Club speakers, called the proposed county park a “wrong action for the future of the environment.” Representatives of the Bolsa Chica Land Trust also spoke against the proposed park.

By contrast, the Amigos de Bolsa Chica, an environmental group that has been a strong advocate about protecting the wetlands, endorsed the park plan. “This is an excellent park to serve as a buffer to the Bolsa Chica (wetlands),” said Terry Dolton, former president of the Amigos de Bolsa Chica.

The park would be a long, narrow strip of land that connects the city’s existing Central Park to oceanfront mesas at Pacific Coast Highway. Supporters of the park said it would allow hikers to view much of the beauty of the Bolsa Chica wetlands area.