Bolsa Chica Plan Goes to State Panel

A state panel today could decide whether to contribute $1 million toward the public purchase of the Bolsa Chica wetlands.

The State Coastal Conservancy, meeting in San Francisco, will discuss a tentative multi-agency plan that could result in state purchase of the ecologically sensitive wetlands next to Huntington Beach.

That plan would bring together several state and federal agencies and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in an effort to buy the wetlands and help restore them. The land is owned by the Koll Real Estate Group. Its plan to build 900 homes on a portion of the wetlands has generated stiff opposition.

The State Lands Commission approved the multi-agency plan Wednesday, officials at the state Resources Agency in Sacramento said.

Under the plan, the state would take title to the land, which might be managed by the California Department of Fish and Game or the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. If all goes well, the land could change hands by the end of the year, Douglas Wheeler, state secretary for resources, said.

One potential stumbling block, however, is a recently begun study of possible contamination at the wetlands caused by years of use as an oil field. The results of that study, expected this fall, will help determine if a public purchase is feasible.