A Deal Worth Waiting For

A complex land purchase proposal offers great hope for resolving at least some of the long-standing rancor over Bolsa Chica near Huntington Beach. If everything falls into place, the largest wetlands restoration ever attempted in Southern California will be undertaken. A handful of agencies would collaborate in rescuing one of the last remaining wetlands on the ravaged coast.

For years, Bolsa Chica has been the subject of protest and excruciating deliberation over options for easing or eliminating development. Now, with the possibility of resolution in sight, delicate discussions on who would clean up the wetlands, and on how clean the site would need to be, have been taking place against deadlines that threaten the deal. There is so much at stake and there has been so much agonizing over the site that it is worth taking extra time to make sure that everything is done right.

It’s important that the Koll Real Estate Group back off from its Dec. 30 deadline so all parties can have the room necessary to work out the details. The State Lands Commission is supposed to decide Friday whether to buy 880 acres of wetlands from Koll, which has approval to build 900 homes on the site and 2,400 more on a nearby mesa. The commision’s decision may also have to be put on hold.

State, federal and company officials have been trying to resolve who would be responsible for cleaning up any contamination at the site. Meanwhile, a federal evaluation has raised concerns about metals and hydrocarbon contaminants. That evaluation was made public only on Wednesday, and it merits close scrutiny.

The question of how polluted the site is has obvious bearing on what the property is worth, and it’s crucial that cleanup commitments be secured from oil companies that may have had a hand in causing pollution. There are important players waiting in the wings, such as the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. The L.A. port has until February to determine whether its necessary participation in the project can go forward.

A wetlands purchase and restoration would not please all the partisans, some of whom are disturbed even by the prospect of separate development on the mesa. But this collaborative effort offers a historic chance to rejuvenate the shoreline. That opportunity should not be squandered in a rush to closure.