HUNTINGTON BEACH

Hearthside Homes established what critics believe is a toehold on the Bolsa Chica mesa after the City Council on Monday approved the developer’s plan to build 16 two-story, single-family homes on six acres at the southwest corner of Bolsa Chica Street and Los Patos Avenue. The council voted 4 to 3 to accept the recommendation of both the city staff and the Planning Commission to develop what’s known as the Sandover site, despite concerns raised about the project’s effects on the environment and the potential disturbance of archeological remains. But the conditions placed on the development planned by Hearthside--formerly known as the Koll Real Estate Group Inc.--minimize the environmental impact “to a level of insignificance,” a city memo shows. And Frank Hovore, a consultant hired by the city, said there wasn’t much at the site worth protecting. As far as the site’s archeological significance is concerned, the mesa has been surveyed at least 10 times already and very few, if any, artifacts remain, according to the memo. Councilman Ralph H. Bauer suggested the only way to save the remaining mesa is to find the money to buy the land from Hearthside, and to do so quickly. Construction is expected to begin later this year.