Bolsa Chica Land Trust Prevails…Yahoo!

NEWS FLASH – About 9 p.m. last night, we received the following “News Flash”  from the Bolsa Chica Land Trust …California Coastal Commission Denied the Coastal Development Permit for the Shea Homes Project at Bolsa Chica.

The BCLT fight against building these homes on coastal wetland property began in 2000.  May sound like a long time but we must remember that the BCLT and the Amigos de Bolsa Chica struggled with other developers, including California Coastal Communities, for over 35 years to save the lower Bolsa Chica Wetlands…now one of the most significant ocean restoration projects in the United States.  Had the California Coastal Commission not denied this project Shea that would have been allowed to put 111 houses on the Upper Bolsa Chica Wetlands.

Thanks so much to all the Bolsa Chica Land Trust members, friends and supporters who showed up at the hearing. Your presence made a difference for our beloved Bolsa Chica!!

In denying the CDP for this project, commissioners mentioned that this land was part of a larger ecosystem, something the Land Trust has  argued since this project was first proposed about 10 years ago. Other commissioners mentioned the lack of enforcement regarding the un-permitted fill on the property. This is another issue the Land Trust has raised for years. This fill, the BCLT believes, covered then existing wetlands!

It is a very happy day for most of us who value all of Bolsa Chica!

(Editor’s Note)  It’s also a rallying cry for people all over the state to do all they can to protect the ocean front for our progeny. This denial means that if the Shea Company wants to build houses on this site they have to go back to the drawing boards. It was a close vote….6 to 5 but fortunately wiser heads prevailed.

The make up of the CCC is often changed when the Sacramento Administration changes.  Hard to believe but politics does dictate how much of our heritage can be saved.   Why Shea wants to build 111 houses, when the company that built homes on a small portion of the lower wetlands is in bankruptcy is surprising but there are always those that see asphalt as an improvement over land in its natural state.

Seal Beach supporters of  the existing land use plans for the DWP property should take note and perhaps consider a “Seal Beach Land Trust” to help save that jewel?