When it comes to good news, make it a double

VIC LEIPZIG AND LOU MURRAY

Recent weeks have brought two important and positive steps for the

environment of south Huntington Beach.

First, the lawsuit brought years ago by Mills Land and Water

Company against the city of Huntington Beach has finally been

settled. The settlement will insure protection of the vast majority

of the wetlands that lie between Beach Boulevard and Newland Street.

Back in 1901, the Mills Land and Water Co. bought 250 acres of

oceanfront property with the intention of being able to develop it

some day. Oceanfront property should have been a safe investment.

Developing a vacation resort along the beach or drilling for oil

would have been reasonable uses of the land back in the mind-set of

the 1920s and 1930s. But that never happened. The Mills Company did

develop a small area for the Cabrillo Mobile Home Park. Over the

years, they sold, or were forced to sell, parcels of land that were

used for Pacific Coast Highway, the Pacific Electric Railway, the

power plant and even Huntington State Beach.

Yet another assault on their property occurred when traffic got

heavier, and Caltrans condemned some of the property in 1965, using

eminent domain. Caltrans wanted the land along Beach Boulevard and

PCH to build a freeway from the Garden Grove Freeway to the planned

Pacific Coast Freeway. But there was strong citizen opposition to the

freeway expansion, and it never happened.

Robert London Moore Jr., the president of Mills Land and Water

Co., wanted his land back. Seems reasonable. So he sued. First, he

sued Caltrans to get his land back. Then he sued the city for passing

an ordinance that he felt would prevent him from developing his

property. The fact is, the city had little choice, but to zone much

of the property for conservation, since much of it is remnant salt

marsh and has habitat value even today.

Finally, the suits have been settled. The company, now owned by

descendants of the original three founding families, will pay the

state $1.5 million and give up 24 acres of undevelopable wetlands, in

exchange for 11 acres along PCH that includes the mobile home park.

Unfortunately, one small strip fronting PCH and running from

Newland to the Cabrillo Mobile Home Park is not protected by the

agreement. The property is still owned by the Mills Company and thus

is threatened with development. That narrow strip will undoubtedly be

the focus of future controversy, as it has some remaining wetlands

characteristics.

But at least the public is now guaranteed that most of the former

tidal salt marsh in that area will be preserved. The Huntington Beach

Wetlands Conservancy may some day acquire and restore the area at

Beach Boulevard and PCH behind the boatyard, as they did at Talbert

Marsh further east. We wish them good luck. The group did a great job

at Talbert. We’re confident they’ll do a great job on the wetlands

across Beach Boulevard from the Hyatt Hotel, if given the chance.

The other recent good news is that the city has issued permits for

the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center to upgrade its facilities on

PCH in front of the power plant. The Care Center was built in

response to the wildlife damage caused by the 1990 American Trader

oil spill. For over a decade, it has been one of the major wildlife

rescue centers in Orange County. Some of the birds and other animals

rescued have been coated with oil from spills. Many have been hit by

cars or harmed by some other aspect of urban life. The volunteers put

in tremendous amounts of time caring for herons, grebes, pelicans,

raccoons and virtually every other type of wild critter in this area.

The center long ago recognized that it needed more space than the

2,500 square foot warehouse building that it currently has. Expansion

planning has been underway for at least seven years. Earlier this

month, the Planning Commission finally approved their permits.

Contrary to a report in another paper, the Care Center will provide

full code-required parking. They are being held to the same standard

as any other building applicant.

Another issue had to do with landscaping. The city wanted the site

landscaped with typical urban landscaping species, rather than native

species that would be more appropriate for a site next to wetlands

that are about to be restored. The city had actually required the

Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center to landscape the area with Myoporum

and Brazilian pepper. Both of these highly invasive species would

have escaped and established in the wetlands, degrading the very

habitat that the Wetlands Conservancy is trying to restore. The

Planning Commission saw the wisdom of the approach requested by the

Center, and has directed that a final landscaping plan be worked out

by the city’s Design Review Board and that it include California

native plants to the extent possible.

We’re glad there has been resolution of this long-standing issue.

Now that the Care Center finally has funding and permits, we hope

construction goes swiftly and smoothly with no further delays. And we

hope that the wetlands at Beach and Pacific Coast Highway can finally

be restored to more functional habitat.

These two recent developments in southeast Huntington Beach are

good news for the area’s wildlife, and for the people who care about

such things.

* VIC LEIPZIG and LOU MURRAY are Huntington Beach residents and

environmentalists. They can be reached at [email protected].