Harman wants state to purchase Bolsa Chica mesa

-- Mary Beth P. Adomaitis

Assemblyman Tom Harman (R-Huntington Beach) said Wednesday he will

introduce a bill requesting $25 million in state funds to help acquire

the Bolsa Chica mesa.

The land, which consists of about 212 acres of undeveloped land, is

immediately adjacent to the Bolsa Chica wetlands. The state acquired the

some of the wetlands property about 30 years ago, and the majority of the

mesa is owned by Signal Landmark, which wants to develop the land.

“The acquisition of the nearby mesa property is the natural and

logical thing for the state to do given the fact that the two properties

are a natural compliment to each other,” Harman said. “There is strong

district-wide support for the purchase of the Bolsa Chica mesa.”

He added that the bill will “provide additional protection to

environmentally sensitive habitats, insure the safeguarding of valuable

Indian burial grounds that are located on the property and also provide a

funding mechanism for the completion of the long-delayed Linear Park.”

Signal and the land’s developer, Hearthside Homes, filed the suit last

month in an Orange County Superior Court, seeking unspecified monetary

damages, as well as an abandonment of the California Coastal Commission’s

decision to cut back the amount of available land on the 230-acre mesa

and the return to a previous development proposal.

In a Nov. 16 hearing, the 12-member commission voted unanimously to

limit development to 65 of the 183 acres planned for Hearthside’s

1,235-unit tract.

Lucy Dunn, executive vice president of Hearthside Homes, could not be

reached for comment by press time.