Court Turns Back Bolsa Chica Development Plans

In a victory for environmentalists, a state appeals court on Friday sent plans for the Bolsa Chica development back to the California Coastal Commission and set further limits on use of the fragile wetlands.

The decision upheld a 1997 ruling by a Superior Court judge that found Coastal Commission members had erred when they approved plans for 3,300 homes to be built in one of California’s largest remaining wetlands areas. The plans were later scaled back to 1,235 homes.

Environmentalists hailed the decision as a major boost in their decades-long struggle, saying it may finally kill the proposal. And the chair of the Coastal Commission said the ruling will force the agency to make sure it gives priority to coastal wetlands across the state in the future.

But officials for the developer said Friday they plan to push forward. The ruling forbidding the destruction of a six-acre eucalyptus grove on the property is not a fatal blow, they said.

“There is a silver lining here,” said Lucy Dunn, executive vice president for Hearthside Homes. “We still have 200 acres for development and a pretty clear blueprint from the court of appeals of how to proceed. The rest of our plan appears to be consistent with both the court’s order and what the Coastal Commission has said in the past.”

Dunn said her company will bring its plans to the Coastal Commission within the next several months. She said the ruling was a disappointment for her company, which had hoped the 4th District Court of Appeal would reverse the lower court decision, which tossed out the Coastal Commission go-ahead for the project granted in early 1996.

It remained unclear how the current Coastal Commission will receive the project. Previous approval was given by a commission dominated by Republicans, some of whom were appointed by former Gov. Pete Wilson. At that time, the commission had a history of allowing controversial development up and down California’s coastline. There will be six new members of the 12-member panel by the time the Bolsa Chica issue is revisited, officials said.

Environmentalists hope that Gov. Gray Davis, a Democrat, will make his mark on the commission with appointees less inclined to give the go-ahead to developers.

Friday’s Bolsa Chica ruling is the latest in a long, contentious battle between the developer, who has held the land for nearly 30 years, and environmentalists determined not to see it turned into a planned community.

Over the years, plans for a 5,700-home development on the mesa and wetlands have been whittled down. The latest proposal would build on the mesa but not on the wetlands.

Some environmentalists contend that any development would be too much, damaging a frail ecosystem that has all but disappeared.

“This decision supports our belief that there are some places that shouldn’t be developed. Bolsa Chica is one of them,” said Paul Horgan, an attorney for the Bolsa Chica Land Trust, the group that sued to stop the project.

Horgan said the court’s decision gives opponents of the plan a second shot at persuading coastal commissioners to veto the project.

But Sara Wan, Coastal Commission chairwoman, said she is unclear on whether the court’s ruling means the entire project will have to be reconsidered by the commission, or if the agency will have to review only the part of the development that affects the eucalyptus trees.

“That question is being litigated separately,” she said.

She did say she thinks the ruling favors the environmentalists: “It does appear the land trust has won.”

Wan pointed out, however, that the only way the opponents could prevent development altogether would be to buy the land.

“It’s not possible under [property] law to deny the project altogether,” she said.

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Times staff writer Deborah Schoch contributed to this report.