Deal to Sell Wetlands to State Expected
A complex deal to save the Bolsa Chica wetlands, reached in negotiations involving nearly a dozen state and federal agencies and three private firms, was scheduled to be announced today at the entrance to one of Southern California’s largest and most fought-over coastal properties.
And like so many times in the past, the agreement on Bolsa remained a cliffhanger Monday night, with several government officials and the landowner reporting that a key agreement covering cleanup of the wetlands remained to be signed.
Still, most people involved in efforts to clinch a state purchase of the wetlands said they were confident that intense negotiations would produce a final deal by today.
The state Lands Commission is poised to vote on the $25-million purchase of Bolsa Chica on Wednesday morning, and state officials have called for assurances that taxpayers will not be burdened with cleanup costs from decades of oil field contamination.
The state purchase would rule out the construction of 900 homes on the wetlands next to Huntington Beach, although 2,400 homes are still planned for a nearby mesa.
If the sale is approved, the land could be transferred to the state as early as Friday.
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