Supervisor Race Elevates El Toro Land Swap Idea

Seeking to touch a nerve with voters in a key race for Orange County supervisor, candidate Dave Sullivan suggested this week that the government swap a developer’s Bolsa Chica property for a portion of the Marine Corps Air Station at El Toro.

If realized, the deal could settle the county’s two biggest land use controversies--and block a commercial airport at El Toro when the Marines leave next year.

The idea, which environmental activists have wistfully admired for years, could become viable if Sullivan, a Huntington Beach city councilman, upsets incumbent Supervisor Jim Silva in the general election this fall. He forced the better-funded Silva into a runoff in Tuesday’s primary election.

The plan also could put a significant crack in the pro-airport district.

By galvanizing foes of planned home development at ocean-view Bolsa Chica, next to a protected wetlands, the plan also would align them with those who oppose an El Toro airport.

South County anti-airport activists have pledged their financial support to Sullivan, whose election would give them a 3-2 majority on the board. Silva, who has been on the board for four years, has been a strong proponent of an airport and the Bolsa Chica development.

Sullivan’s plan, to be sure, is still in its embryonic stage and faces big obstacles, including funding and approval from a developer that recently won the right to build homes on the Bolsa Chica mesa after three decades of legal battles.

Nevertheless, Sullivan sees a win-win situation. The developer would avoid more lengthy lawsuits, activists would save the mesa and South County anti-airport forces would have homes instead of an international airport in their neighborhood.

“It’s very difficult when you have this much opposition in the community to get something through,” said Sullivan, referring to the Bolsa Chica development. “It may very well be to [the developer’s] benefit. I see this as an opportunity for everybody to come out OK.”

Sullivan is the first to admit that this is only an idea and that many more steps must be taken before it even becomes a possibility.

So far, the developer, a subsidiary of California Coastal Communities Inc., formerly known as Koll Real Estate Group, is saying the land isn’t for sale.

“The bottom line is that we already have our development approval,” said Lucy Dunn, spokeswoman for the company’s Hearthside Homes unit. “This is all politics, not reality-based.”

In addition, the money to buy the property from California Coastal would have to come from either the federal government or the county--two funding sources that have not expressed any interest in purchasing the land.

But those opposed to development of what is now called Warner Mesa say they will keep fighting the plans in court, if needed. Some activists say the mesa is a buffer for the adjacent wetlands.

“They thought that we would be gone by now,” said Debbie Cook, Sullivan’s campaign manager, who also is a lawyer for the Bolsa Chica Land Trust.

“They did not think we were foes worthy of their attention,” she said. “We are not going away. We live here. The sooner Koll realizes that, the better off they will be.”

Currently, there are plans to build 1,235 homes on the mesa. The development now would consist primarily of single-family homes, with fewer than 100 townhomes and condominiums.

In February 1997, the Bolsa Chica wetlands were sold to the state and plans to build homes there were abandoned.

Dunn said only 165 of the 350 acres the company owns will be developed. The rest will remain open space with trails and a park for visitors.

The idea to swap land was brought up nearly five years ago by the Land Trust, Dunn said. But without a funding source, it went nowhere, she said.

Dunn said it will be difficult to lobby the federal government to spend money on the grassy mesa. The raw land is valued at $130 million and much more if developed.

“The Department of Interior specifically told us they had no interest whatsoever in the mesa,” she said. “There are so many other real environmental sites all over the United States that are a far wiser use of environmental dollars. From a policy standpoint, this just makes no sense.”

Besides, Dunn said, the company could start building homes there as early as next year.

Swapping government land for open space is a long and complicated process, according to experts.

But Harriet Burgess, who as president of the American Land Conservancy has handled dozens of land swaps with the Interior Department, said proponents of the swap will have to move quickly to accomplish their goal.

“It’s never too late, but the faster you have to move, the harder it is to do it,” she said.

California Coastal must agree to swap the mesa or sell it outright, most likely to the federal government. In a swap, the federal government would transfer a portion of the El Toro land to the Interior Department, which would make the deal with the developer.

If a swap doesn’t occur by the time the Marines leave, the El Toro land would be turned over to the county, which would negotiate a swap with the developer.

Meantime, all sides would obtain appraisals of the parcels to be swapped so they could make sure they are trading equally valued land. And groups suing to block the development would likely have to sign off on the deal.

U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) has been discussing ways of saving the mesa for several years with activists, said spokesman David Sandretti. She had joined negotiations among the state, the Land Trust and developers for the public purchase of the wetlands.

Boxer wants funding in next year’s congressional budget to appraise the mesa, Sandretti said, but it won’t be easy to get.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Mesa for Base: Doing the Deal

A land swap would be a long and difficult process involving negotiations between federal bureaucracies, environmental interests and the developer. Here are the steps required for any land exchange involving the Bolsa Chica mesa and a portion of El Toro Marine Corps Air Station:

* California Coastal Communities Inc. (formerly Koll Real Estate Group) must agree to swap the mesa or sell it outright, most likely to the federal government.

* The federal government would transfer a portion of the El Toro land to the Interior Department, which would make the swap with the company.

* If a swap doesn’t occur by the time the Marines leave, the land would be turned over to the county, which would negotiate a swap with the company.

* Environmental groups that have been suing the developer to stop construction would have to sign off on any deal as well.

At the same time the government would be working toward a swap, these events would have to occur:

* The two sites would be appraised.

* Funding must be found to buy the mesa or offer the developer buyout money.

* If all parties agree on the appraisal, there would be an equal trade, value for value.

Source: Times reports

Researched by LORENZA MUNOZ / Los Angeles Times