Panel to Vote on Seal Beach Plan in Eureka

In a move that has angered activists, a state panel is scheduled to decide the fate of the controversial Hellman Ranch development in far-off Eureka, 700 miles north of the Seal Beach wetlands that have sparked a spirited environmental tug of war.

Due to a tangle of deadlines and geography, the California Coastal Commission will vote on the project the second week in September, when it convenes in the far northwest corner of the state.

The scheduling is a departure from the commission’s practice of voting on major local issues close to home so the public can attend. But only the developer can postpone the Hellman Ranch vote until the commission meets closer to Orange County, such as an October meeting in Oceanside. And a representative of the property owner said Saturday he will not request such a delay.

“We feel the system has had more than enough time to handle this application,” said Jerry Tone, a member of the Hellman family, which owns the land. “They’ve had it for almost a year.”

He noted that two public hearings have been held in Southern California in recent months.

But the prospect of a vote in Eureka infuriates environmentalists who say that few members of the public can afford the time and money to fly to Eureka to speak out about the proposal. They plan to complain to coastal commissioners Tuesday when they begin a four-day meeting at the Waterfront Hilton in Huntington Beach.

They say a vote should be postponed a month until commissioners meet in Oceanside in October.

“If the developer really felt this was something the whole community wanted, then I think [it would] be willing to do that and let the community speak,” said Marcia Hanscom, chairwoman of the wetlands committee for Sierra Club California.

City leaders in Seal Beach have staunchly supported the Hellman plan for a gated community of 70 luxury homes, an 18-hole golf course open to the public and about 28 acres of restored wetlands, all on a 196-acre parcel. They call it an ideal balance of development and wetlands preservation.

But several environmental groups oppose the project, saying it would destroy precious fragments of vanishing coastal wetlands. They call the Hellman decision pivotal for state wetlands policy. Commissioners must decide whether to allow wetlands to be filled to make way for a golf course--a step that the commission’s own staff says is not permitted under the Coastal Act.

The staff initially supported the golf course plan but shifted its stance this spring.

Attesting to the strong feelings stirred by the plan, more than 170 supporters and critics traveled to Santa Barbara for a commission meeting in June, and 150 people were on hand for another meeting in Long Beach in April.

Both sides predict a far smaller turnout in Eureka, reached from Orange County by a two-plane, 2 1/2-hour flight costing about $250 when tickets are purchased two weeks in advance, according to rates checked Saturday.

“We’re beggars at the banquet. We don’t have the money, so we don’t have the resources to go to Eureka,” said critic Doug Korthof of Seal Beach, who has launched a Web site to rally opposition. He noted that some Native American groups oppose the project and questioned whether they can afford the Eureka trip.

“Then it becomes an eco-justice issue. There’s an issue of de facto segregation against those who have a right to express their opinion,” Korthof said.

Commissioners voted in June to delay voting on Hellman Ranch so the staff could attempt to reach a compromise with the developer. One avenue they wanted explored was whether the Port of Long Beach could help finance wetlands restoration at the Hellman site to compensate for a habitat destroyed by the port expansion. But port officials said in a July 23 letter that the cost could prove prohibitive, though they didn’t rule out the idea.

Peter Douglas, the commission’s executive director, said he had hoped the Hellman project would be voted on in Huntington Beach this week, but discussions with the Port of Long Beach had slowed planning.

Meanwhile, Hellman project officials say they may be able to enlarge the wetlands restoration area to 39 acres by moving some oil production equipment. “It’s over 169 acres of open space, with the golf course,” said Dave Bartlett, project point man for Hellman Properties LLC.

“They want lots of green and lots of open space, and they’ve got it,” Seal Beach Councilman Shawn Boyd said.

City Council members plan to fly to Eureka for the vote, Boyd said. “I think it’s a small expense to assure the future of the city as we want it.”

Boyd said he supports having the vote in Eureka and not waiting for the Oceanside meeting.

The far-off location could benefit Hellman, he added, “because it’s going to remove some of the local fever” among environmentalists.

“I think the Hellmans have bent over backward,” Boyd said, “to work with the City Council and bent over backward to work with the city of Seal Beach.”