Developer’s Misstep May Open the Door to Saving Wetland

What appears to be a bureaucratic rhubarb between Huntington Beach and the California Coastal Commission could have a surprising result: conservation of a threatened wetland area known by activists as “Little Shell” that is set to be bulldozed for housing.

That site, on which developer Robert Mayer Corp. wants to build 230 homes, could be a bargaining chip as the city, the commission and the developer decide what to do about a key land division map that was never submitted to the state, said Peter Douglas, the commission’s executive director.

In a Sept. 12 letter, the commission’s staff suspended the permit for a hotel being built next door by the same developer, making ongoing site preparation illegal, Douglas said.

“The reality is--from a legal, technical standpoint--it wasn’t done right,” Douglas said. “It puts a cloud over the permit. But the hotel is in the process of being built. They’re grading and trying to find a source of financing. It’s illegal, but we’re not taking any enforcement action.”

The city, which owns both sites, is denying that the Coastal Commission has any authority in the situation. The permit “has not been suspended, and your letter is invalid and has no legal effect,” according to a draft response from the city attorney’s office.

Behind the scenes, all sides are seeking a solution, expected within a few weeks. Part of that compromise could be that Robert Mayer Corp. will forgo filling the tiny wetland--0.7 acre--for housing and limit the project to the remaining 22 acres of the land.

That solution also would defuse another controversy. The commission is being sued by three environmental groups who say the state’s approval of the housing project in April violated the law.

“We’re now considering whether there is a strategy where [everyone] can come together and work out a solution to all the issues surrounding that particular area,” said Shirley Dettloff, a member of both the City Council and the Coastal Commission.

Douglas said Wednesday he could not discuss the negotiations beyond saying that saving the wetland is not out of the question.

“That is a possibility, and I think it would be a good solution. We’re going to be looking to try to figure out a way to do that and hopefully work out a way to solve all of these issues,” he said. “We’re trying to be constructive here and work with the city in a ‘let’s-find-a-solution mode.’ ”

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Wetland Fight

Construction of a waterfront hotel hit an obstacle because of a paperwork problem.