Huntington Beach Mayor Named to Coastal Commission

Mayor Shirley S. Dettloff, an active member of the Amigos de Bolsa Chica group that formed initially to oppose development of the Bolsa Chica wetlands, will be named to a vacant seat representing Orange and Los Angeles counties on the California Coastal Commission, she said Wednesday.

Dettloff said she was informed of the appointment by telephone late Wednesday. Officials with the Senate Rules Committee, which makes the appointment, could not be reached for comment, but a coastal commissioner said Dettloff will be joining the 12-member board.

Dettloff will fill the seat that became open when former Agoura Hills Mayor Fran Pavley decided last year not to seek reelection. The seat is set aside for a local elected official.

“I’ve spent all my life involved in coastal-related issues,” Dettloff said. “I feel the coast is one of the most important resources the state of California has. My first concern will be the protection of our coast.”

The Coastal Commission was established by voter initiative in 1972 and four years later was made permanent by the state Legislature. It is responsible for managing development of California’s coastline under the California Coastal Act.

As such, it played a key role in charting the course of limited development in the Bolsa Chica wetlands, and it will review state plans for a high-end resort in Crystal Cove State Park.

Dettloff’s candidacy was opposed by some environmentalists who contend she has opposed efforts to save the entire Bolsa Chica wetlands.

“She has done nothing for Huntington Beach as far as coastal issues. Nothing,” said Debbie Cook of Huntington Beach, a member of the Sierra Club Angeles Chapter executive committee and an opponent of developing the Bolsa Chica mesa.

But Susan Jordan, a board member of the League for Coastal Protection, said her group “considers it a positive appointment.”