City Might Try to Buy Bolsa Chica Mesa

Huntington Beach on Wednesday appeared ready to try buying the long controversial Bolsa Chica mesa and preserve it from development.

Four of the city’s seven council members said they supported the idea in concept. Mayor Pam Julien Houchen said she would submit a motion at Monday’s meeting to start negotiations with landowner Signal Landmark and seek federal, state and local funding.

“It’s everyone’s goal to have as much open space as possible,” Julien Houchen said.

She acknowledged that in the mid-1990s she had supported development of the mesa to fund purchase and restoration of wetlands nearby. But since the wetlands have been bought by the state, she said, she now supports preserving the mesa as well.

Bolsa Chica, a coastal stretch between Seal Beach and Huntington Beach, includes the largest wetlands complex in Southern California and is a key stopover for migrating birds on the Pacific Flyway. More than 1,200 acres of wetlands have been saved in what has become one of the most costly restoration efforts in state history.

City Councilman Ralph Bauer has also submitted a motion to be discussed Monday that would impose conditions before the city supports any private attempts to purchase the mesa.

If the city buys the land, it will end three decades of a development saga that has seen litigation, death threats against local officials and involvement from every level of government, including Congress.

In 1970, Signal’s predecessor, the Signal Bolsa Corp., bought about 2,000 acres at Bolsa Chica for about $20 million. Since then, Signal and its affiliates have spent about $90 million trying to develop the land.

The project was once envisioned as a marina, hotels and 5,700 homes on 1,547 acres, but it has been dramatically scaled back after court challenges by activists. In November, the Coastal Commission ruled that development must be restricted to a 65-acre upper tier of a 230-acre mesa.

The November decision, which is being challenged in court by the landowner and developer, added momentum to a movement to preserve the entire mesa. Last week, Assemblyman Tom Harman (R-Huntington Beach) announced that he planned to introduce a bill requesting $25 million in state funds to buy the mesa.

Lucy Dunn, senior vice president for Hearthside Homes, which manages Signal’s assets, said Wednesday the company is open to a fair offer from the city or others.

“The company would be interested in a business deal that protects our shareholders. . . . We are good businesspeople,” she said. “Despite all the talk, we have never received one single phone call.”

Dunn declined to name an asking price. Activists say SEC filings list a bloated property value of $135 million.

In related news, Signal Landmark sued the Amigos de Bolsa Chica in Superior Court on Friday, saying its longtime environmental foe violated a confidential 1989 settlement agreement.

The suit says the environmental group, which received $1.2 million in the settlement, agreed to support the developer but failed to do so at the Coastal Commission meeting this past November.

Dunn declined to comment.

The lawsuit seeks arbitration, court costs and any other relief that the court deems appropriate.

Linda Moon, president of the Amigos, said her group would vigorously oppose the suit, “and we don’t believe we’ve done anything wrong.”

The Amigos response is due in about a month, and a hearing is scheduled for April 6.

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Ongoing Land Battle

Landowner Signal Landmark has sued the Amigos de Bolsa Chica for allegedly violating a 1989 settlement agreement.

Source: Superior Court