Judge Denies Bid for New Bolsa Chica Study

A judge Wednesday declined to require a new environmental study for a Huntington Beach construction site where workers recently found human bone fragments believed to be those of prehistoric Native Americans.

Orange County Superior Court Judge William McDonald denied the Bolsa Chica Land Trust’s request that the study be ordered in light of last month’s find at the proposed site of 16 homes on the mesa overlooking the Bolsa Chica wetlands.

“We believe that the judge carefully reviewed the matter, and we are thoroughly pleased with his ruling,” said Lucy Dunn, executive vice president of Hearthside Homes, which is planning the construction on the 6-acre site near the intersection of Los Patos and Bolsa Chica avenues. “It fits both with the law and the facts.”

Connie Boardman, board member of the land trust, which has long opposed any development in or near the wetlands, took a different view.

“The reason we filed the suit was because we . . . wanted the site to be adequately studied before any building takes place,” she said. “Evidently the judge didn’t agree with us, which is unfortunate--I think we stand to lose a lot of information that could have been gleaned from the site.”

Opponents of the project said they are considering an appeal of Wednesday’s decision.

The controversy flared up last month after workers discovered human skull fragments and a tooth that one expert said could be 8,000 years old. Dunn said the remains will be turned over to Native Americans for reburial at the site this month.

Developers hope to begin construction on the first of the new homes within three months, she said.