Bolsa Chica Agreement Is Tribute to Passion, Patience

Decades of contention over the fate of the Bolsa Chica wetlands near Huntington Beach have given way to a remarkable deal that has brought together an array of agencies and interest groups. The idea that patient negotiation and innovative thinking can produce agreement ought to cheer and encourage all Orange County, which has had its share of environmental battles.

The $91-million plan to buy and restore the wetlands assures public ownership of an expansive wetlands preserve that has inspired passion and conflict over the years. The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are contributing $79 million, which the State Lands Commission is using to buy 880 acres of the wetlands from the Koll Real Estate Group. Koll will receive $25 million; the rest plus $10 million in interest and $2 million in grants will be used to create an inlet connecting the wetlands and the ocean.

The scope of the agreement is breathtaking. The ports, for their efforts, will receive credit for preserving 534 acres of wetlands, and thus be able to go ahead with expansion plans. The Fish and Game Department will expand its management of an adjoining reserve to create a permanent 1,200-acre wetlands reserve.

Several oil companies will be responsible for cleaning up contamination related to oil production at the site, and Koll will be responsible for cleanup unrelated to the oil. A late indication of the breadth of the partnership was the recent announcement that money linked to the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska would be contributed to the cleanup.

All of this gives reason for celebration. Millions will be spent to carve a tidal inlet between the wetlands and the ocean, and to restore the marshes that are home to rare birds, waterfowl, and fish. Considering the range of development proposals that have been floated in the past, and the degree of cooperation that had to be cobbled together, it is remarkable that such a restorative project was even conceived.

Some who have labored long and hard to prevent any development at Bolsa Chica no doubt will be disappointed that Koll still has approval to move forward with up to 2,400 homes on the mesa. But it is important to remember that in 1994, supervisors unanimously approved Koll’s plan to build as many as 3,300 homes in the wetlands. It was only last year that federal officials moved ahead with the plan of public purchase, and they did so with the proviso that the cleanup problems be resolved.

The compromise found herein is further testimony that common ground can be found in environmental conflict. That all of this has come together--marrying so many different interest groups--is a triumph of public policy and consensus building in an era when confrontation and standoffs seem so often the norm over land use. As one nature photographer commented, in the spirit of compromise and practicality, “Anything is better than losing it all.”

This unlikely coalition of government and business, Republicans and Democrats, environmentalists and oil companies, is proof that complicated agreements can be worked out. In recent years, this approach of land set asides and swaps has moved front and center as an approach to the complex problems proposed by various development proposals. Already in Orange County, the State Resources Administration has been instrumental in negotiating agreements between the disparate interests of developers and advocates of preserving species and open space.

This agreement covers an important major wetlands area in California. After years of disappointment, frustration and contention, that it has been fashioned at all is a triumph of resolve and patience.