A watershed decade

Huntington Beach’s biggest newsmaker of the last 10 years was not a politician, not an activist, not a city commission or grass-roots organization, but a 1,200-acre stretch of wetlands bordering the Pacific Ocean.

It was a decade of change and growth for Huntington Beach, as the city grew to more than 200,000 residents, trademarked the nickname “Surf City USA” and underwent political turmoil on and off the dais. But the name that most dominated city news from 2000 to 2009 was one that didn’t even belong to a person: Bolsa Chica.

In 1997, the state bought 880 acres of the wetlands with the intent of restoring them as a nature preserve. The years that followed saw battles with more than one developer who sought to build homes on the land, a tidal inlet to reconnect the wetlands with the ocean and the first major steps toward returning the land to its native state.

The Bolsa Chica saga made headlines throughout the 2000s, but there was other excitement as well. Here are the Independent’s choices for the top 10 stories of the decade:

1 The battle for Bolsa ChicaThe battle for Bolsa Chica

Here’s an end-of-decade quiz: What was the biggest event at Bolsa Chica over the last 10 years?

Was it in 2001, when developer Hearthside Homes submitted a proposal for 387 homes on the upper mesa, down from the 5,700 originally proposed decades earlier?

Or in 2003, when the state began the arduous process of stripping oil wells and restoring the land it had purchased six years earlier?

Then again, maybe it was in 2006, when water gushed through a tidal inlet at Bolsa Chica State Beach and reconnected the wetlands to the Pacific Ocean for the first time in a century.

It was a decade packed with twists and revelations for Bolsa Chica (see sidebar), but in broad strokes, development took a hit, preservation got a boost, and volunteers’ fingers got dirty from removing non-native species.

At least two major residential developments are still expected for Bolsa Chica. Hearthside has broken ground on the now-356-home Brightwater Project, and a smaller one from Shea Homes awaits approval from the California Coastal Commission and others. The fate of a six-acre property owned by resident Don Goodell, considered by Native American tribes to be a valuable archaeological site, is up in the air.

The vision that many had for an untouched Bolsa Chica no longer looks like a reality, then. But with the state and local environmentalists now rolling up their sleeves to restore much of the land, the area is closer to its pristine form than it’s been in decades.

2 The Poseidon adventureThe Poseidon adventure

Few plans have sparked more controversy in Huntington Beach in recent years than the proposal by Connecticut-based Poseidon Resources to install a desalination plant. The City Council approved the project in March 2006, setting off an ongoing debate between those who see the plant as a needed source of fresh water and others who view it as unnecessary and harmful to the environment.

The proposed facility, located behind the AES power plant at 21730 Newland St., would convert seawater into 50 million gallons of drinking water per day. Some environmentalists decry the process of conversion, known as once-through cooling, as harmful to ocean life, but a spokesman for Poseidon has said the process would require far less water than what the power plant already takes in.

Those siding against Poseidon include former Mayor Debbie Cook, the Surfrider Foundation and the grass-roots group Residents for Responsible Desalination. Lt. Gov. John Garamendi sent the company a letter this year urging it to seek methods other than ocean water for desalination plants, which amounted to a thumbs-down for the Huntington Beach project.

However, Mayor Cathy Green and a number of City Council members have supported the project. If the company gets the green light from the State Lands Commission and California Coastal Commission, Poseidon may break ground on the facility in 2011, with water deliveries — and probably a few protests — to begin two years later.

3 Tough times at City HallTough times at City Hall

Two former Huntington Beach mayors and the city pleaded guilty to criminal charges in the first half of the decade.

Former Mayor Dave Garofalo was charged with 15 misdemeanors and one felony charge in 2002 for votes he cast on the council and gifts he received in office. Former Mayor Pam Houchen was also charged with eight counts of wire and mail fraud in 2005 for her involvement in a real estate scam.

The city may have let more than 70,000 gallons of raw sewage into the ground in the 1990s and pleaded guilty to crimes related to the sewer leaks in 2001.

The city was put on five years’ probation, fined $75,000 for violating sections of the state water code and ordered to spend at least $250,000 to assess and clean up remaining sewage residue.

4 Sports Complex gets a saveSports Complex gets a save

The 45-acre Sports Complex near Central Park was supposed to be a $1.5-million project to provide a recreational arena for kids, but ended up being full of surprises for city planners and residents.

The complex, which is built over an oil field, landfill and a small mushroom farm, cost the city nearly $20 million when it was discovered that the site needed to be cleaned up.

The contractor hired to build the second part of the complex abandoned the project and kept $950,000. The contractor was court-ordered to repay the money and damages to the city, and the city hired another contractor to finish the project. The complex was preliminarily approved by City Council in 1999 and completed in April 2004 with a grand opening celebration.

Now completed, the complex has won two state awards for Best Design and Best New Recreation Facility.

5 KOCE adjusts the setKOCE adjusts the set

KOCE-TV, the public television station that broadcasts from Golden West College, may not be known for inflammatory programming. But the station became the subject of a heated battle after its owner, the Coast Community College District, put it up for sale in 2003.

The district declared the KOCE-TV Foundation, a community group that formed in 1978 to raise money for the station, the winner for its $32-million bid, only $8 million of which was in cash. However, the Daystar Television Network, a Texas-based Christian broadcaster, filed a lawsuit claiming that its $25.1-million cash bid qualified it as the rightful owner.

The standoff between the foundation and Daystar went through a series of court rulings in the years to come. The dispute was resolved in 2007, when the foundation made a confidential agreement with Daystar and retained ownership of the station.

6 A beautiful Bella TerraA beautiful Bella Terra

When Bella Terra, the massive open-air shopping center at 7777 Edinger Ave., hosted its grand opening in September 2006, it got far more than a ribbon-cutting. Among those in attendance were football star Greg Townsend, Miss Huntington Beach and members of the Eagles, Steppenwolf, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Santana.

That festivity was the reward for years of hard work. In 2002, the city approved the renovation of the Huntington Center Mall, a rundown shopping center that was built in the 1960s. The $140-million renovation project included four major courtyards, an outdoor amphitheater, a 20-screen movie theater and more.

Though Bella Terra now serves as a retail center for Huntington Beach and a visual landmark from the 405 Freeway, work on the center continues. In 2008, the Planning Commission voted to approve the Village at Bella Terra, a six-story complex with retail shops and more than 700 apartments, and the owners are awaiting approval from the City Council.

7 Senior center on holdSenior center on hold

The city has been working toward building a new $22-million senior center for years, but a court ruling has stopped the project.

The 45,000-square-foot, one-story center was slated for completion in April 2011, but Orange County Superior Judge David C. Velasquez found the city to be in violation of its general plan and two state environmental acts.

The court ruled the city can’t use the entire $22 million on the project, because it violates an open space act. Makar Properties was going to build the senior center instead of creating new open space for its Pacific City project, a 31-acre multiuse site. The court ruled using all the money for open space on the center violates the state Quimby Act.

The city announced this month that it will appeal the ruling.

The center would have replaced the Michael E. Rodgers Seniors’ Center on Orange Avenue and given residents twice as much space, dedicated dance and group fitness rooms and a new fitness center and computer lab.

8 Downtown gets upgradedDowntown gets upgraded

One of the recent controversies in Huntington Beach has been the dispute over the Downtown Specific Plan, which seeks to increase development over the next two decades. But even before the protests began over the fate of Triangle Park, downtown Surf City was already changing by leaps and bounds.

The Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa, a $120-million resort, opened near the pier in 2003.

The Strand mixed-use development was approved by the city early in the decade and launched in 2008, featuring the 157-room luxury Shorebreak Hotel, CVS Pharmacy and other restaurants and retailers. In 2007, the city, Marketing and Visitors Bureau and Downtown Business Improvement District launched the weekly street fair Surf City Nights to bring more visitors downtown.

As the decade wrapped, Huntington Beach was anticipating the opening of Pacific City, a 32-acre project that would bring hotels, shopping, condominiums and more to the area between the Hyatt and Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort.

9 Surf City goes greenSurf City goes green

Huntington Beach has been making an effort to go green by incorporating environmentally friendly building practices and encouraging the use of local products. The city is focusing on new environmental measures to decrease the amount of greenhouse gas emissions, reduce waste and promote energy efficiency.

Huntington Beach is working to upgrade and install more energy-efficient equipment at its facilities. To help residents go green, the city partnered with Sharp Solar Electricity to provide discounts on the company’s solar panels to residents and inspire solar energy use.

There is also an annual Green Expo for residents to find out more about becoming environmentally friendly both personally and professionally.

10 Saluting the MarinesSaluting the Marines

Huntington Beach adopted the 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines stationed at Camp Pendleton in April 2005 by proclamation of the City Council.

The city has been supporting the “Thundering Third” and their families by sending care packages, holding welcome-home and special activities for the wives and children when the Marines are deployed and assisting injured troops.

Lt. Col. Ben Watson thanked the city for its support during a City Council meeting Nov. 16.

“Since Huntington Beach adopted our battalion in 2005, there has just been a humbling amount of support for our Marines and sailors,” he said.