HUNTINGTON BEACH : City Officials Urge Changes in Housing Plan for Bolsa Chica

City officials spoke out Monday in favor of modifying the controversial Bolsa Chica housing plan, saying their proposals would soften the project’s effect on the ecologically sensitive wetlands and nearby neighborhoods.

Koll Real Estate Group wants to build 3,300 homes on and around the wetlands.

The city is asking the California Coastal Commission to require an open-space buffer that would separate the wetlands from 2,500 homes planned for the adjoining mesa.

Huntington Beach borders the unincorporated Bolsa Chica area on three sides.

Four council members and a city-paid lobbyist have met with coastal commissioners in recent weeks to urge changes in the project, including the rerouting of a proposed roadway to promote public access and further protect the wetlands.

At a news conference called by Mayor Victor Leipzig on Monday, city officials outlined seven issues, including the buffer, that they want the Coastal Commission to consider when it votes on the project Nov. 16.

The City Council unanimously agreed on those points in July.

The city also wants to assure that the project is dominated by single-family homes, rather than multifamily, so that it will be compatible with adjacent neighborhoods.

City officials plan to ask Gov. Pete Wilson and Orange County Supervisor Jim Silva, a former Huntington Beach mayor, to support the city’s stance.

The city and Koll in recent weeks have been in “vigorous discussions” about the issues but have not reached an accord, Leipzig said.

City officials were not unanimous in their concerns Monday, though.

Speaking in Koll’s defense was Councilman Dave Garofalo. He questioned the buffer request, saying it could take valuable, developable land away from Koll.

“To take property without [giving] fair-market value is totally wrong,” Garofalo said.