HB Council Votes 5-1 to Change the Land Use Designation
on 5 Acres of the Bluffs at Bolsa Chica to Residential
Dear Friends of Bolsa Chica,
In a disappointing, but not totally unexpected outcome, the Huntington Beach City council voted 5-1 Tuesday night to change the land use designation on land on the Bolsa Chica Mesa from open space parkland to residential. Other than the developer, all of the speakers asked the council to deny the project. The council received over 600 postcards from Bolsa Chica supporters asking them not to change the land use designation, however, they were not moved by this outpouring of public opinion.
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Part of the crowd at the council meeting standing to show their support.
The only ones not standing are with the development company.
Photo courtesy of Joe Shaw. |
Thanks to Jill Hardy for her support. Jill Hardy made many excellent points, among which included the observation that once open space is gone, you can't get it back. She also recognized the special nature of that area of the mesa as far as archeological resources. The other council members basically dismissed this important aspect of the site.
Joe Carchio, Cathy Green, Don Hansen, Keith Bohr, and Gil Coerper all voted against the wishes of the community, and with the developer. Joe Carchio is running for re-election to the council this fall, while Green, Hardy, and Coerper are termed out at the end of this year.
I find it very sad that the majority of this council is fine with the developer spraying herbicides on the land prior to the biological assessment so the biologists would not find rare plants found on adjacent property. The assessment for rare plants was done in January 2010, and as you can see in the lower photo even in March of 2010 the land still looks barren.
August 2009

March 2010

The council majority also voted to violate the city's general plan coastal element that specifically prohibits residential development on the very bluffs where the housing project is proposed.
The majority of this council obviously does not value open space. The city has a deficit of parkland, yet the council just voted to turn five acres of it into housing in the most sensitive ecological area in the city.
The many Native American speakers expressed how important the remaining undeveloped sites on the mesa were to them, but sadly, their testimony meant nothing to this council.
Fortunately for the Bolsa Chica, the Huntington Beach City Council does not have the final word on this development. The project will have to go to the California Coastal Commission for approval.
The Trust has also established an excellent record we can use if we have to take the issue to the courts. If we do have to sue, we of course don't know how our law suit will conclude. We do know however, that in the future people in this city will ask "what in the world was the city council thinking when they voted to approve a development project that destroyed a 9,000 year old archeological site?"
Thanks so much to everyone who came to the meeting, and all who contacted the city council. We of course will let you know when this project will be before the California Coastal Commission.
Sincerely,
Connie Boardman
President, Bolsa Chica Land Trust |