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By
Dan Weikel
Los Angeles Times
December 22, 2005
The last major acquisition for the Bolsa Chica wetlands in
Huntington Beach was made Wednesday when the state bought
103 acres that activists had sought for more than a decade
to preserve.
California Coastal Communities Inc., a Southern California
homebuilder, sold the parcel near Warner Avenue and Pacific
Coast Highway to the state Wildlife Conservation Board for
$65 million.
The mesa will be added to the 1,100-acre Bolsa Chica
Ecological Reserve, which is undergoing a $70-million
restoration, the largest such undertaking in California.
"This is a tremendous win for the people of
California," said Flossie Horgan, who co-founded the
Bolsa Chica Land Trust 13 years ago to stop the coastal mesa
from being developed.
Completing the sale means that at least 96% of the
developer's original holdings have been set aside for
preservation as open space. In 1980, there were proposals to
build marinas, commercial buildings and at least 5,700 homes
on the site.
California Coastal Communities still plans to build 349
luxury homes and a park on the upper portion of the mesa.
The California Coastal Commission approved the 105-acre
Brightwater development in April. Construction is scheduled
to begin next year.
The land bought by the state includes hiking trails and
environmentally sensitive habitat for eucalyptus trees, the
southern tar plant and birds of prey, such as hawks, owls
and osprey.
Environmentalists and state officials said the mesa, which
is adjacent to the ecological preserve, also would provide a
much-needed buffer between future development and the
wetlands.
"We have always looked on the wetlands and the uplands
as one integrated resource," said Shirley Dettloff, a
founder of Amigos de Bolsa Chica. "The major acreage
that forms Bolsa Chica has now been saved."
Al Wright, executive director of the Wildlife Conservation
Board, said the state would prepare a plan for the property
and determine what steps were necessary to restore the
parcel and improve public access.
The state will pay for the land using funds from Proposition
50, a 2002 initiative that provides $3.4 billion for
environmental projects.
Preservationists say they are still trying to acquire two
parcels totaling 56 acres in the wetlands from private
owners, including Shea Properties, an Orange County
developer.
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