HUNTINGTON BEACH

Old Natural Gas Plant Won’t Play Any Part in New Regional Park

The City Council has rejected a proposal to save a portion of a natural gas processing plant as part of Bolsa Chica Regional Park.

A majority of the council Tuesday was opposed to preserving a portion of the compressor building and related equipment, such as tanks and boiler structures.

In presenting its plan for the park, the harbors, beaches and parks division of the county’s Environmental Management Agency suggested incorporating selected elements of the gas processing plant as an educational and historical feature of the park. The site, near Seapoint Street and Garfield Avenue, has been operated as an industrial plant by Shell Onshore Ventures.

Scott Thomas, a senior landscape architect for the county, told the council that it is “an incredible opportunity to save a little piece of Huntington Beach history. It tells the story of oil and gas production.”

Robert G. Fisher, county director of harbors, beaches and parks, said that in light of the council’s unfavorable reaction the idea will not be pursued. He said an interpretive center planned for the park will probably contain information about oil and gas exploration in the city.

Demolition of the structures is expected by year’s end, Fisher said. Cleanup of the site to remove soil contaminants is scheduled for next year, Fisher said.

Councilman Ralph Bauer said he was against the proposal because there is strong community support for a passive use park. “This represents a fairly non-passive use,” he said.

Councilwoman Grace Winchell favored the concept as a way to educate children about the city’s past. “It would be nice to have something like this in an oil town,” she said.

But Barbara Marrs of the Seacliff Coalition said the gas plant is an eyesore. “I don’t see anything worth preserving to make it into a museum,” she said.