Bolsa Chica Developer Offers All-or-None Deal for Services

Koll Co. has proposed a deal with Huntington Beach for city services at the housing development the company hopes to build on the Bolsa Chica mesa.

But City Councilman Dave Sullivan on Wednesday called the proposal “a farce” and said the company is trying to blackmail the city.

Koll’s proposal, made in a letter Tuesday from Koll Vice President Ed Mountford to City Administrator Michael T. Uberuaga, addresses fire, police, library and water services to the planned 2,500-home project.

Environmental groups hoping to block the development have asked the city to withhold services, particularly water. They want the Bolsa Chica mesa to be preserved like the adjoining wetlands.

Koll has been near agreement with the city in most areas except water. Company officials have said they have other potential sources if they can’t get water from Huntington Beach, which surrounds the unincorporated area that the company wants to develop.

In the latest proposal, which would require council approval, the company says it is willing to spend as much as $8.75 million to build a water reservoir near the development. Koll also would make a one-time payment of $1.2 million for firefighting service to the new homes, plus as much as $700,000 annually.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Department would be responsible for police protection. But Huntington Beach officials said local officers will almost always be first on the scene because they are closer.

Huntington Beach wants to be reimbursed for its police service, but Koll officials said they don’t want residents of the new development paying twice for law enforcement.

Mountford said the service agreements are a package deal that may not be approved separately and the offer expires in 30 days.

Sullivan said the company’s “refusal to pay for police protection is outrageous. The water proposal is inadequate, and the all-or-none proposal for services is flat-out blackmail.

“I think they want our water badly.”