O.C. Supervisors OK Wetlands Development : Environment: Koll Real Estate gets go-ahead for Bolsa Chica project. Opponents vow legal challenges.

Acting in the face of personal attacks, calls for their resignations and threats of lawsuits, the Orange County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday capped an eight-hour public hearing by unanimously approving a plan to build as many as 3,300 homes in and around the Bolsa Chica wetlands near Huntington Beach.

“Bolsa Chica’s time has finally come,” said Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder, in urging board approval of the Koll Real Estate Group’s plan. “This county needs economic development, particularly given the events of the past two weeks. Large projects like Bolsa Chica need to be brought on line as quickly as possible.”

Huntington Beach Councilman Ralph Bauer, who opposes the project on environmental and economic grounds, had a different view. “They crammed this down our throat,” he said. “The board just went through the largest municipal bankruptcy in history and apparently has learned nothing from it.”

Representatives from the city of Huntington Beach and its school districts vowed to fight the project in court, saying that it would cost tens of millions of dollars in services.

The proposal still must receive approvals from the California Coastal Commission and the Army Corps of Engineers and a final ratification from the supervisors, which could come next summer.

Under the plan as approved, the Koll Real Estate Group would build the homes on 1,600 acres of the ecologically sensitive area along Pacific Coast Highway near Huntington Beach. In exchange for permission to build the houses, the company would spend about $48 million to restore 950 acres of degraded wetlands--much of it now used for oil production--by, among other things, constructing a functioning tidal inlet connecting the marsh to the ocean.

Bolsa Chica, the largest stretch of unprotected coastal marshland south of San Francisco, forms a natural habitat for dozens of species of fish, mammals and birds, including at least five types of birds considered endangered.

It is the ecological importance of the wetlands that, for years, has inflamed the passions of environmentalists, who fear that development will ruin the sensitive ecosystem. The development plan has also been opposed by Native Americans, who say that it would disturb a sacred burial ground once used by their ancestors, and by history buffs, who object to the removal of a World War II artillery bunker at the site.

Many of the critical comments on Wednesday, however, centered on economic issues, apparently brought to the fore by the county’s financial crisis.

“I had assumed this meeting would be postponed until the hemorrhage of public funds could be stopped,” said Connie Boardman, president of the Bolsa Chica Land Trust, which has led opposition to the project. “Why in the face of the worst financial crisis in Orange County history are you using your time to vote on this?”

Gordon LaBedz, a spokesman for the Surfrider Foundation, which also opposes the project, was even more strident. “I’m pretty sick of you,” he told the supervisors. “We’re calling for your resignation and the cancellation of this hearing. You have disgraced us, and you are about to disgrace the Bolsa Chica” wetlands.

County officials, however, said that the Koll development, far from being a drain on the county’s beleaguered economy, could only improve its financial picture.

“I don’t believe the project will be affected by the economic situation,” said Thomas B. Mathews, the county’s planning director. “It’s a private development. There is an impact on the general fund, but it will be mitigated by the developer.”

A fiscal impact report prepared by an outside consultant for the county predicts a recurring annual drain of about $437,000 on the county’s general fund resulting from the project. That deficit would be more than offset, however, by developer fees as well as by $54 million in increased state and local tax revenues during the estimated 15 years it would take to complete the project. About $25.1 million of that would go directly to the county. Once the project is completed, the report says, Southern California would reap added sales and real estate tax revenues of about $12.5 million a year.

And the project would further bolster the region’s economy, according to the report, by creating more than 10,000 jobs during the construction period and about 4,000 permanent jobs.

“The fiscal impacts of the project must be taken in a context with the benefits,” Mathews said.

That was not enough to satisfy Huntington Beach city and school district officials, however, who argued on Wednesday that the project would impose the unreasonable costs of supplying thousands of new residents with services, such as police and fire protection, as well as educating their children in local schools.

“This is financially irresponsible,” Bauer said. “By this action, the board has saddled the people of Huntington Beach with upfront costs of $60 million and $5 million annually in perpetuity.”

Marshall Krupp, a consultant representing the Huntington Beach City School District and the Huntington Beach Union High School District, had a similar complaint.

“This has been an extremely frustrating process for the school districts,” he said, explaining that the Bolsa Chica development would ultimately add about 1,195 new students to the two districts at an annual cost of about $34.5 million.

Mathews, however, downplayed such concerns. Many of the city’s costs, he said, would be offset by economic benefits such as increased tax revenues and spending. Other mitigating factors, he promised, would be worked out later.

Regarding the school districts, Mathews said, the increased costs would be partially offset by several million dollars in required developer fees. In addition, he said, the districts could reduce their estimates of added costs by reopening schools shut in recent years because of falling enrollments.

“The county of Orange is not the facilities planner for the school district,” he told the supervisors.

Both Krupp and Bauer said they would urge their respective agencies to initiate immediate legal challenges to the proposed project. “They totally ignored us,” Krupp said of the supervisors.

Not everyone in the packed hearing room, however, was unhappy with the board’s action.

Adrianne Morrison, executive director of Amigos de Bolsa Chica, an environmental group that opposed a more ambitious Koll development plan 10 years ago, expressed satisfaction with the current project.

“We’ve just crossed over the threshold” to preserve the wetlands, she said. “Now that’s exciting.”

Joyce Riddell, president of the Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce, called the development good for business. “I commend them for their proactive position,” she said of the board. “Huntington Beach will benefit, and it will be a benefit for all of Orange County. It will help build a healthier economic environment.”

Lucy Dunn, senior vice president of the Koll Real Estate Group, was overjoyed. “I’m excited,” she said. “I’m overwhelmed. I’m very happy, but it’s a happiness for the day, because there’s still a lot to do. This is a milestone on a very long journey.”

The board approved a recommendation by Supervisor Roger R. Stanton that the vote not preclude the purchase of the wetlands by interested parties, such as the Department of the Interior.

Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez urged that there be a “very thorough effort” to address concerns about the cost of supplying police and fire services to the development.

In a daylong meeting that featured signs bearing such slogans as “Save It, Don’t Pave It” and punctuated by many expressions of heartfelt emotion, one of the most urgent came from a woman who described herself as a member of the Juaneno band of Native Americans.

“The spirits of our ancestors are crying out,” said Maria Francis of Anaheim, with tears in her eyes. “This is our holy land; please leave our sacred burial grounds alone. If you approve this, be prepared to deal with the disasters to follow: earthquakes, fires and floods.”

None of the supervisors had any comment.

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Bolsa Chica Plan

The Orange County Board of Supervisors approved a plan Wednesday to develop the Bolsa Chica wetlands and the surrounding area. Some highlights:

* Homes: Koll Real Estate Group, the Bolsa Chica landowner, wants to construct as many as 3,300 homes on 1,600 acres.

* Improvements: In exchange for permission to build, Koll would spend about $48 million to restore 950 acres of degraded wetlands.

* Prices: Condo prices would start at $200,000; luxury view homes would cost up to $1 million. Average home price would be $350,000.

* Construction: Koll wants to start building in 1996 and finish in 13 to 15 years. First homes could be occupied by 1998.

* Jobs: Could create more than 10,000 jobs during construction, about 4,000 permanent jobs.

* Taxes: Upon completion, development could generate $12.5 million annually. During building, project would generate $54 million in state and local taxes.

* Objections: Environmental and financial. City and local school districts say project would cost their agencies about $95 million upfront, with added expenses annually.

* Endangered species: Marsh and surrounding upland is habitat for five endangered bird species: the light-footed clapper rail, Belding’s savannah sparrow, California least tern, peregrine falcon and brown pelican.

What’s Next:

* Opponents, including the city of Huntington Beach and local school districts, have promised legal challenges.

* Development requires approval by California Coastal Commission, which could review it this spring.

* Army Corps of Engineers must also approve; expected to take action in 1995.

* Board of Supervisors must give final ratification, possibly next summer.

Source: Times reports, Koll Real Estate Group

HOUSING DENSITY ZONES

Low: Low-density residential

M.L.: Medium- and low-density residential

M.H.: Medium- and high-density residential

Researched by PETER M. WARREN / Los Angeles Times