The Tide May Be Turning

Quietly over the last few months, with a cleanup order here and a staff report there, environmentalists have been racking up victories in developer-friendly Orange County.

In legal settlements or regulatory staff reports, environmental groups have won reductions--some on a drastic scale--in controversial coastal projects from Seal Beach to Dana Point. They also have claimed victories in disputes over open space and water quality.

Regional experts, county officials, developers and environmentalists differ in explaining the trend. Some say it’s merely a matter of timing: Many long-fought projects are reaching their final planning stages, when most negotiations occur. Others say the victories reflect growing clout and sophistication among local environmental groups.

But many point instead to the county’s thriving economy. In a subtle but fundamental political shift, some say, good times have made residents concerned more with preserving quality of life than with creating jobs.

“There’s more public support for environmentalism because there’s less . . . concern about economic security,” said Mark Baldassare, a UCI professor and senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California, a nonpartisan think tank in San Francisco. “For most people, it’s hard to think of any point in their lifetime that economic times have been so good.”

Regardless of the cause, local activists are gaining momentum:

* California Coastal Commission staff issued a preliminary recommendation this month that would slash a proposed development near the Bolsa Chica wetlands to 1,235 homes on about 65 acres. The plan by builder Hearthside Homes, repeatedly scaled back over the last 14 years, originally called for 5,700 homes and millions of square feet of commercial space on about 700 acres.

* Developers of the controversial Dana Point Headlands last month agreed to a scaled-back plan that allows 125 homes, 65 hotel rooms and 62 acres of parks and beaches--a dramatic departure from a city-approved plan for 370 homes and a 400-room hotel that was blocked by a 1994 voter referendum.

* Residents and activists this month derailed a proposal to build 600 homes on Barham Ranch in Orange. The fate of the 525 acres of wilderness that border Santiago Oaks, Weir Canyon and Irvine regional parks remains uncertain, but at least one county supervisor favors preserving it as open space.

* Facing a possible legal loss, Hellman Properties LLC in November backed down from plans for a golf course that would have replaced nearly 18 acres of wetlands at Hellman Ranch in Seal Beach.

* Threatened with denial of a key permit by the California Coastal Commission earlier this month, the Irvine Co. agreed to again revamp its runoff diversion plan for a large residential development above Crystal Cove State Park. The developer’s plans for the Newport Coast have repeatedly been scaled back over the last three decades.

* Prompted by lobbying from grass-roots environmental groups, the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board in late December ordered a cleanup of the heavily polluted Aliso Creek.

Environmentalists say swelling public support has helped increase their clout--support they attribute in part to last summer’s two-month closure of shoreline in Huntington Beach because of high bacteria levels.

“People can’t take their kids to the beach and have them go swimming--this is something that didn’t happen 20 or 10 years ago,” said Susan Jordan, a League for Coastal Protection board member.

But builders say the trend is better explained by the end of a building recession. Many projects are in final planning stages, when compromises are most likely.

“We’re probably seeing a lot more environmental issues get on people’s radar screens because . . . a lot of builders are attempting to get final approvals,” said Christine Diemer Iger, chief executive of the Building Industry Assn.’s Orange County chapter. “It’s not a new environmentalism. It’s not new players. It’s a timing issue.”

Also a factor, developers acknowledge, is the economy. While regulators and environmental activists are always attentive, “The general public tends to be more concerned about the environment during good strong economic times,” said Irvine Co. spokesman Paul Kranhold. “In bad economic times, the public’s attention and concern is more tilted toward reviving growth and creating economic security.”

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Public policy expert Baldassare agreed. “Support for environmentalists does ebb and flow with the economy,” especially regarding “issues that directly affect the way land is used and the way developers generate jobs. Environmentalists come up against more opposition during bad economic times, and environmentalists will draw more public support during good economic times.”

Many observers agree that along with the economic climate, the level of environmental activity has increased. Local groups, they say, have become more sophisticated at using legal tools.

“These groups do have a lot of power under state and federal law,” said Kurt Berchtold of the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board. “I think that’s something that has contributed to the rise of some of the groups--recognizing they do have a formal voice in the process. . . .”

There also are new voices on the local environmental scene. The Orange County CoastKeeper began operations last year. Nationally, the organization favors using litigation to force polluters into compliance.

Some see the increased activity in a darker light. Lucy Dunn, executive vice president of Hearthside Homes, said extremists who want absolutely no development near the Bolsa Chica wetlands, for example, have taken advantage of the planning process.

“There is a small, vocal group of people who wrap themselves in the environmental mantle but whose mission is to hijack the legitimate public planning processes for the purpose of delay so that nothing gets done,” Dunn said.

County planning director Thomas Mathews said environmental activists have indeed become adept at using the law.

“That’s not to say they don’t bring significant issues to the table--they do,” Mathews said. “But my concern with the process is that [with] very few exceptions is there true collaboration to come up with the best balance between competing interests.”

Mathews said that despite developer setbacks, Orange County will remain attractive to builders because of its prestige, weather, natural resources, economy and other attributes. But he admits environmentalists have affected the building climate.

“What developers want is certainty. Where there’s uncertainty, they’re very uncomfortable.”

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Environmentalists On a Roll

Environmentalists and citizen groups have won a string of victories in recent months.

Crystal Cove: Coastal Commission has prodded Irvine Co. to repeatedly revamp plans for handling runoff from homes above state park.

Bolsa Chica mesa: Coastal Commission tentative staff recommendation would slash Hearthside Homes’ project to 65 acres.

Dana Point Headlands: Planned development of homes and hotels has been repeatedly scaled back in the face of opposition from residents.

Barham Ranch: Fate of 525 acres of wilderness remains uncertain but it has been saved from immediate development.

Hellman Ranch: Facing legal action, developer has agreed to drop golf course from plan.

Aliso Creek: Environmental groups prompted state to order local governments to cut pollution in creek.