HUNTINGTON BEACH : City Hires Lobbyist for Bolsa Chica Case

The city has hired a lobbyist to make sure that the California Coastal Commission addresses concerns about the 3,300-home development proposed by Koll Real Estate for the Bolsa Chica area.

The City Council voted unanimously Monday to spend $25,000 to hire Susan McCabe of consulting firm Rose & Kindal to lobby the commission on a number of issues, among them protecting and preserving the wetlands and ensuring that the land-use plan is compatible with adjacent Huntington Beach homes.

The project would have 900 houses on the lowlands and 2,500 homes on the mesa.

Councilman David Sullivan called the unanimous votes on the Bolsa Chica issue “amazing” because the current and past City Councils have been divided for years on the development, already approved by the Orange County Board of Supervisors.

When the Coastal Commission considers the project, probably in October, the council will insist on:

* A conservation easement over lowland areas to ensure that only wetlands restoration takes place.

* A roadway and open-space buffers on the mesa designed to protect wetlands restoration areas from development.

* Ensuring that a tidal inlet would not be detrimental to the beach and public recreation areas.

* Memorializing Bolsa Chica’s historical resources, among them World War II bunkers and an area once used by Native Americans.

Lucy Dunn, Koll senior vice president, said Tuesday the company objects to some of the city’s issues, such as the mesa roadway and buffers, which would take developable land from Koll and would be “in excess of wildlife agency requirements and far in excess of good ecology requirements.”

But she added that the plan “has gone through an enormous public process, and we still welcome the city’s discussion with us.”