More Work Needed on Bolsa Chica Plan : If Homes Must Be Built, the Fewer the Better

The California Coastal Commission’s approval of the proposed construction of 3,300 homes on the ecologically fragile tract known as Bolsa Chica should not be read as meaning the plan is perfect. It is not. Negotiations to improve the project, perhaps by decreasing the number of homes, should continue.

The commission overrode its own staff this month in agreeing with the Koll Co. plan for the wetlands adjacent to Huntington Beach. That was a victory for the company and a setback for some environmental groups.

Many environmentalists took the stance that the best plan for Bolsa Chica was no development at all. That is true, but unrealistic. Where would the money come from to buy the property, an extremely valuable 1,100 acres of prime oceanfront land along Pacific Coast Highway?

The Koll Real Estate Group now has Coastal Commission approval to build the 3,300 homes, including 900 on the wetlands. It has pledged to spend $48 million to restore those wetlands, a badly needed project because of the deterioration they have suffered. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers still must approve the project.

There is still a chance that the wetlands would remain undeveloped, which would be a better plan. But if Koll decides to forgo putting homes on the wetlands and builds only the 2,400 on the mesa, it does not have to spend the $48 million for restoration, only $7 million. That would leave a large gap in needed funds for cleanup.

Enter the federal government. Last year the U.S. Interior Department proposed buying the entire wetlands and restoring them with money from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which in turn would be allowed to expand their ports. The deal made sense, but has run aground over how much the government would pay Koll.

One obvious problem is the cost of cleaning up the pollution left by decades of oil drilling at Bolsa Chica. The government must be careful not to pay too much for the property since it could end up with an outsized cleanup bill. But if a reasonable dollar figure is reached, sparing the wetlands and cleaning them up would be the best outcome.

By the federal government’s calculation, in the last two centuries California has lost more of its wetlands than any other state, more than 90%. Bolsa Chica is the finest of what is left in Southern California and is already the site of a 300-acre state ecological reserve.

Wetlands are important for flood control and as habitat for imperiled species of birds. Bolsa Chica also provides solace for the spirit, as the many people who enjoy outings there can attest.

The battle to develop Bolsa Chica has gone on for over a decade. Koll once wanted to build more than 4,000 homes, but later trimmed that figure. After the City Council of Huntington Beach, which eventually will annex the property, added members the company considered unfriendly to its plans, Koll switched the permit process from the city to the county.

At another level, negotiations between Koll and the federal government over the possibility of reducing the number of homes should continue. Koll should seize the opportunity to give something back to the community while simultaneously protecting its own interests.