Small Huntington Beach Wetland Deserves California’s Protection

One of the smallest fragments of a historical coastal wetland is quickly becoming the stage for a legal battle that may determine the future of California’s last remaining 5% of these wetlands. California has lost more than 95% of its historical coastal wetlands; the majority of the loss has been suffered in the last 75 years. Is it too much to ask that the last 5% be spared--for our children, grandchildren and future generations?

Seeing the steady depletion of these irreplaceable natural resources, the voters of California in 1972, by a huge majority, approved Proposition 70, which led to the Coastal Act. Among other protections, it established the California Coastal Commission, which is charged with protecting coastal natural resources.

Since the commission’s creation, there have been great moments for coastal protection, such as the Bolsa Chica Wetlands preservation. However, there have been many dismal failures. A 0.7-acre wetland near the corner of Beach Boulevard and Pacific Coast Highway, recently nicknamed “Little Shell,” is one of these failures.

The Coastal Commission is the strongest for coastal protection that it has been in years. In this instance, it bowed to political pressure, threw out the rule book, and voted 7 to 5 in April to destroy this historic wetland and allow condos to be built. This is just the legacy our generation needs to leave for future generations: Destroy irreplaceable historic wetlands so a few can maximize the return on their investment.

Coastal Commission members turned their backs on their own staff, who recommended the preservation of the patch of saltwater and freshwater wetland. In elaborate detail, the staff recommendation outlined how this proposal from the owners of the Waterfront Hilton and the city of Huntington Beach went against the Coastal Act, the city’s Local Certified Program, the Interpretive Guidelines and the Bolsa Chica legal decision, which specifically prohibits destroying wetlands for residential housing. Instead, the majority of commissioners embraced the politics of the governor, the pressure from one of their own, who is also on the Huntington Beach City Council, and not least, pressure from the developer’s lobbyist. The value of Little Shell is thus 35 condos across the street from the beach, certainly a gem in any developer’s eye.

Fearing a backlash from developers, who think the Coastal Commission has been too “green” in coastal protection, there is now an appeasement mode filtering through commission work. Assemblywoman Denise Ducheney (D-National City) has reintroduced AB 2310, a bill sponsored by the building industry and developers that would reduce the commission’s authority to protect certain resources. This bill is currently sailing through various committees in Sacramento.

There has been a lot of misinformation “spun” about Little Shell. Yes, it is small. It needs restoration. If restored, it would cover 2.2 acres of a 5-acre parcel that currently belongs to the city of Huntington Beach. This wetland, connected by pipes to one south of Beach Boulevard, supports a more diverse variety of plant species than some other preserved wetlands. The developer proposes to develop four acres of wetland at the Shipley Nature Center as mitigation; historically, coastal wetlands are irreplaceable and cannot be replicated. In this instance, Shipley is not even in the “coastal zone.” The citizens of California are coming out on the short end.

This wetland does not have to be the pawn. The developer easily could incorporate it into the development plans. It can be restored and actually filter the runoff that is created by the development--what nature intended wetlands for.

In an ideal world, developers would want to incorporate an irreplaceable historical resource into their project, the local government would encourage it through tax and infrastructure incentives, and the current citizens and future generations would benefit from, and in turn, show their support for the development.

In reality, the Coastal Commission set a dangerous precedent for coastal protection throughout the entire state. The developer is trying to squeeze as much density and profit out of the project as possible. The city is interested in the financial return generated from the development. Well, so much for the ideal world.

The last opportunity to save Little Shell is to litigate the actions of the Coastal Commission. As one of the four co-plaintiffs, the Orange County CoastKeeper could not just walk away. Ironically, our only chance to save a wetland is to sue the agency we, as voters, created to save what little remaining coastal resources we have left.