City to study annexing five acres of Bolsa Chica

Kenneth Ma

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- The city has hired a consulting firm to help it

decide if it should annex an unincorporated part of the Bolsa Chica.

Shea Homes is hoping to develop 27 single-family homes on the five-acre

lot, part of a 50-acre, 208-home development the company has in the

works. The proposed development is bordered by Graham Street and

Kenilworth Drive.

Last week, the City Council voted unanimously to pay McKinley, Nielsen

and Associate Consulting of San Diego $22,375 to prepare a report

comparing the city’s cost analysis of the annexation with Shea’s report.

The report would look at how much the city would have to spend on

services and how much it would stand to gain in property taxes if it asks

the county for the land.

The five-acre parcel in Bolsa Chica will need approval from the Local

Agency Formation Commission for annexation. The independent agency

decides on issues such as incorporation of cities and mergers between two

cities.

Scott Hess, a principal planner with the city, said construction has not

begun because the project has yet to receive approval from the Planning

Commission, City Council and the California Coastal Commission. The

project is scheduled to be reviewed by the Planning Commission this fall,

he said.

Even though the development is in its first stages, there is already some

community concern.

Eileen Murphy, a member of the Bolsa Chica Land Trust, said she is not in

favor of an annexation of the five-acre parcel in Bolsa Chica because the

city will not have enough water to provide to additional homes in the

area.

Douglas Stewart, a resident who lives on Kenilworth Drive, said he is

worried that the development may overwhelm flood control channels in the

area that are not equipped to handle increased runoff. He is also

concerned that too many homes are being proposed.

“It is not an issue of whether [neighbors] want them to build it, it is

an issue of us wanting them to do it right,” Stewart said.