Mills lawsuit settlement spells win for all

NATURAL PERSPECTIVES

Is it really true? Is the war over? Has peace been declared between

the city of Huntington Beach and Mills Land and Water Co.? Let’s not

start celebrating yet, but it looks like the end is near, and a good

end at that.

For most of the 20th century, Mills Land and Water was the owner

of all the property between Beach Boulevard and Newland Avenue, from

Pacific Coast Highway northward to the first existing residential

complexes. Then, in 1965, Caltrans, using eminent domain, took all of

Mills’ Beach Boulevard and Pacific Coast Highway frontage for roadway

expansions that never took place. Since Caltrans wasn’t using it,

Mills wants that land back. In fact, there have been lawsuits between

Mills and Caltrans for more 20 years.

After decades of litigation, a settlement agreement finally was

reached a year ago. It was signed by attorneys for the city, Mills

Land and Water, and the California Department of Transportation.

However, the settlement received little, if any, attention at that

time. We just learned about it recently.

It looks like a pretty good agreement. If it works as intended,

three good things will be achieved. First, all of the wetlands

between Beach Boulevard and Newland Avenue will be brought into

public ownership and protected. Second, the non-wetland frontage

along Pacific Coast Highway will be developed into attractive visitor

serving commercial businesses. And third, two mobile home parks will

be retained as part of the city’s affordable housing stock and their

residents will be relieved of the worry that their parks will be

converted to some other usage. Mills is holding meetings with the

mobile home owners to allay their fears that they will be evicted,

which is the trigger that has catapulted the year-old settlement into

the news recently.

Who worked this miracle? Who waved a magic wand and transformed

the warring parties into peacemakers? I don’t know. Maybe it was just

Grandfather Time.

Much of this land is wetlands. In fact, it is valuable,

functioning wetland, and as such, is not developable. Although it has

been cut off from the tides, it is close enough to a flood control

channel that it is restorable. We hope that will be its fate.

Not all of Mills’ property is wetlands. Former wetlands, probably,

but no longer. Some parcels were filled long ago and are deemed not

restorable. The 2.5-acre parcel at the corner of Beach and Pacific

Coast Highway now occupied by Action Boats is not wetland. The

parcels now occupied by Huntington-by-the-Sea and Cabrillo mobile

home parks are not wetland. And the parcel that used to be occupied

by the Cenco tank farm (fortunately now gone) is not wetland. I know

of no environmentalists that were opposed to the idea of development

on these sites. The settlement agreement acknowledges Mills’ right to

build on these upland parcels.

The parcels now owned by Mills that are wetland -- even the

parcels whose wetland status was disputed -- are to be purchased from

Mills by Caltrans with a deed dedication acknowledging them to be

wetlands. This looks like an environmental victory to me.

I first became involved in this matter when I was a Planning

Commissioner in the late 1980s. Then, when I was elected to the City

Council in 1992, I led the fight to achieve protective zoning

(actually, Land Use designation) for the wetlands. That designation

was finally adopted in 1996 and was the basis for the lawsuit that

Mills filed against the city. So if you want to, blame it on me.

But if things go the way they are envisioned by the settlement

agreement, I’ll be getting my way in the end: protection of the

wetlands, appropriate coastal development, and protection of the

mobile home parks. Sounds like a win-win situation to me.

In turn, I’ll give credit to the city, to Mills and to Caltrans

for coming up with a creative settlement agreement. I spoke with City

Attorney Jennifer McGrath who called it a “fabulous thing” for

everyone involved. She described it as “good for the city, good for

the community, and good for Mills.”

There is still a long way to go to implement the settlement

agreement. The city has to adopt new land use and zoning language.

The city would be further along with that process than they are

except that Mills requested a delay. And there remains one important

player in the process that must approve the city’s land use and

zoning designations. Like a thundercloud on the horizon, there looms

the California Coastal Commission. Will they like the settlement

agreement terms? I’d love to believe that peace has come at last. But

after all the controversy and litigation that I have seen over this

property, I won’t be surprised if there is more conflict ahead.

* VIC LEIPZIG and LOU MURRAY are Huntington Beach residents and

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