HUNTINGTON BEACH : City Will Act on Park Landscaping

The city will pursue deed restrictions to require native plant landscaping at the proposed Orange County Bolsa Chica Regional Park.

The action is being taken because of the discovery of an oversight that omitted the conditions when the deed was transferred to the county.

The City Council this week agreed to have its legal department pursue the deed restrictions.

The city deeded the property to the county to develop the 106-acre park, which will be county-owned and maintained.

The park, on the southeast edge of the Bolsa Chica wetlands, is also known as Linear Park. The park will be a long narrow strip of land that connects Central Park to the oceanfront.

In May, the council had requested that city officials examine the possibility of placing the deed restrictions requiring natural plants be placed at the park.

In June, the council inadvertently approved the deed transfer without any deed restrictions, and subsequently it was transferred to the county.

Councilman Dave Sullivan said that the apparent mistake was “just one of those unfortunate things.”

Sullivan said the deed restrictions should be pursued to restore public confidence.

He added that “people in the city would feel better if (the restrictions) were on there.”

The California Coastal Commission in July approved development of the first, three-acre phase of the park.