Briefly in the news

Bryce Alderton

The California Coastal Commission is expected to approve a plan to

restore the Bolsa Chica wetlands next week following a decision by the

California Department of transportation Tuesday to relent on the size of

a bridge it plans to build near the mesa.

Clatrans scrapped plans to turn a four lane section of Pacific Coast

Highway into a six lane bridge Tuesday, effectively removing the largest

hurdle blocking the restoration project.

The six lane bridge Caltrans had slated for the area was to

accommodate future needs, said Caltrans spokeswomen Rose Melgoza.

“The master plan report called for a six-lane roadway geared for

growth by the year 2020,” Melgoza said of the bridge that would connect

Warner and Seapoint avenues. “Now it will be a four lane that will

accommodate current needs.”

The agency reduced the plan, she said, after hearing that the Coastal

Commission intended to fight it.

The Coastal Commission will hold a public hearing beginning at 8 a.m.

Tuesday Nov. 13 at the Hyatt Regency at 711 South Hope St. in downtown

Los Angeles.

Representatives from the eight state and federal agencies involved

with the project will be on hand to answer questions following a

presentation by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, one of the

federal agencies involved in the restoration.

Soil impacts, land grating and effects on wildlife and habitats at the

wetlands will be some of the other topics the commission will look at

before voting.

“We need to see what the plan is going to look like and what degree of

success the plan will produce,” said Shirley Dettloff, one of the 12

commissioners who will vote, and a Huntington Beach city councilwoman.

Contractors will be hired and restoration will move forward if a

majority vote is taken Tuesday.

If the Coastal Commission does not pass the restoration plan it will

not be the end of discussion, Dettloff said.

“I imagine the agencies will go back to the drawing board and rework

the [plan],” Dettloff said. “[The vote] is to see if and when and exactly

what type of plan we will have.”

The proposed restoration involves 880 acres of the Bolsa Chica

lowlands to create wetland and habitat areas.