. . . . And You Thought Bolsa Chica Was Saved ?

By Joe Shaw – Member Board of Directors of Bolsa Chica Land Trust

On April 27, the Huntington Beach Planning Commission approved The Ridge. Hearthside Homes’ 22-unit housing project proposed for an important natural and historic site at Bolsa Chica.

Approval required the commission to re-zone the site from parkland to residential. The land had been zoned as open space/parkland for nearly thirty years. The Commission voted 4-3 to change the zoning despite an abundance of evidence that the project is too close to environmentally sensitive habitat and will destroy a sacred Native American burial and ceremonial site. Voting in favor of the development were Janis Mantini, John Scandura. Fred Speaker. and Barbara Delgleize.

Commission Chairman Blair Farely vigorously tried to save the site from being rezoned. and he was joined by Elizabeth Shierr Burnett and Tom Livengood. Nearly sixty people attended the hearing. Speakers from the Bolsa Chica Land Trust and the Amigos de Bolsa Chica argued forcefully against the rezoning and presented a solid case for the Commission to either require an Environmental Impact Report or reject the rezoning outright. The Ridge property. along with the D.E. Goodell property (otherwise known as the Sacred Cogged Stone site). make up a portion of the Bolsa Chica known as the Bluffs. The Cogged Stone site was recently annexed by the City of Huntington Beach and has. in our view; been zoned for residential use without proper environmental review.

The Bluffs feature breathtaking views of the Bolsa Chica and the undeveloped Shea property known as the upper Bolsa Chica Wetlands. They are perilously close to environmentally sensitive habitat areas already under protection, and overlap “ORA 83” and “ORA 86” which are “1S onca y an cu ura y ” significant to Native Americans and to our understanding of the Bolsa Chica’s ancient peoples.

Because of the natural, archeological, and cultural importance of the Bluffs, the Land Trust is once again leading the fight to save areas of Bolsa Chica that others are willing to give up. If you want to be part of this effort, please donate to the Bolsa Chica Land Trust as we fight to Save the Bluffs! Joe Shaw has been a member of the Land Trust Board of Directors since 2009.

(Editor’s Note: “whats up in seal beach” considers the Bolsa Chica Bluffs and Wetlands an extremely important ecological site for all of Southern California.  We encourage our readers to take a walk over the new bridge at Warner Ave and PCH and you will immediately see what’s at stake.)

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