Pringle Win Changes Bolsa Chica Picture

The selection of Garden Grove Assemblyman Curt Pringle as Assembly speaker on Thursday created a new wrinkle in the lengthy war between environmentalists and developers over Bolsa Chica, the largest ecologically sensitive wetlands in Southern California.

Pringle is expected to replace four members of the 12-member California Coastal Commission with his own appointees, just as the panel is set to make a critical decision on the future of Bolsa Chica next week.

The four members were appointed by former Assembly Speaker Willie Brown (D-San Francisco), and it is likely that Pringle will appoint people who would favor the development of Bolsa Chica, home to a number of rare birds.

Any new members are expected to be appointed before the commission’s meeting next week. Still, environmentalists are wary about the turn of events, while developers reacted happily to the timing.

The commission is scheduled to vote Jan. 11 on the Koll Real Estate Group’s plan to build 3,300 homes on part of the wetlands and a nearby mesa, while spending $48 million to restore the remaining wetlands next to Huntington Beach.

“Assemblyman Pringle has gone on record publicly and in writing in supporting our project,” said Lucy Dunn, the Koll group’s senior vice president. “We feel we have a solid, positive voice for environment and economic balance.”

Connie Boardman, president of Bolsa Chica Land Trust, which opposes the Koll plan, said Pringle’s ascension does not bode well for her group’s interests.

“I would expect anyone Curt Pringle appoints would be very pro-development,” she said.

Pringle, a staunch conservative, has not had the chance to review any of Brown’s appointees to state boards and commission but plans to do so as soon as possible, legislative aide Shawn Kent said.

“They were people put in by Brown . . . so it would be our intention to make changes to those appointments,” he said.

Kent said he is uncertain when any changes would take place or what the process would be. Meanwhile, it is not clear whether the four coastal commission members in question will be a part of next week’s commission meetings, Wednesday through Friday, said Peter Douglas, the commission’s executive director.

Coastal Commission Chairman Carl L. Williams said that Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren’s office informed him that it is reviewing whether Pringle had the authority to remove him and the other appointees from the panel.

Williams said that Pringle sent him a letter recently asking him to support the Bolsa Chica development plan.

“I thought it was kind of curious to get a letter from him asking for my support and then learn that he might be working for my removal and that of the other commissioners,” said Williams, a Bay Area attorney.

Even if the Koll plan is approved by the commission, that would not rule out a federal purchase of 1,000 acres of wetlands. Under that plan, the U.S. Department of the Interior would buy and restore the wetlands, shaving 900 homes from the developer’s plan. Negotiations continue between the federal government and Koll officials.