Recall could scrap Bolsa Chica deal

Jenny Marder

Gov. Gray Davis’ commitment to fund the purchase of the Bolsa Chica

Mesa, hailed as one of the biggest steps in the history of the

30-year battle over these wetlands, could be scrapped if voters

decide to oust him in November.

Assemblyman Tom Harman agreed to support the $99.1-billion state

budget last week if Davis would secure funding for the purchase of

200 acres of the mesa and a four-acre archeological site.

“This is the first time that there’s been a commitment of any kind

of money,” said Bob Biddle, Harman’s chief of staff. “This is a

milestone, I think. We’re talking about actual dollars.”

Under the terms of the deal, roughly $200 million in Proposition

50 funds has been earmarked for purchase of the wetlands. Proposition

50 is the statewide clean water and coastal protection bond passed by

voters in 2002.

News of the deal had local environmentalists rejoicing.

“We are ecstatic,” said Flossie Horgan, executive director of the

Bolsa Chica Land Trust. “We are extremely excited about the

opportunity that presents itself here.”

That excitement could be short lived, however, with an upcoming

recall election that makes the governor’s political future uncertain.

“Harman didn’t think of this until he was talking to me later,”

Biddle said.

Although a recall poses the greatest threat to a purchase, the

environmentalists’ battle with landowner Signal Landmark and

developer Hearthside Homes is not won.

Harman’s deal has not altered development plans on the mesa, and

no deal has yet been struck with them, said Lucy Dunn, vice president

of Hearthside Homes.

“It’s very valuable property and it’s been planned for many, many

years for homes and it still is,” Dunn said, adding that if an offer

is made, the board of directors would consider it.

“Whether it’s a public agency or a private entity, [the board]

would certainly look at it,” Dunn said. “They have a duty to look at

all offers.”

Biddle met with Dunn on Tuesday to discuss the possibility.

Hearthside Homes remains an unwilling seller, Dunn said.

Wetlands advocates are optimistic nonetheless. Harman’s action

underscores a trend that Horgan said she has seen in Orange County,

in which residents and legislators alike have become more

environmentally conscious.

“Orange County really is changing its face,” Horgan said. “It’s

really a county that’s coming of age and realizing the importance of

critical habitat that needs to be saved. ... People are finally

standing up and saying, ‘No, no, you’re not going to pave us down

here. We live here and we deserve to have these habitats preserved’.”

An appraisal of the land by the California Wildlife Conservation

Board began in March and should be completed in the next few weeks,

said Al Wright, the board’s executive director.

To determine the value of the land, appraisers evaluate market

conditions, development potential and comparable sales and look at

issues that might benefit or detract from the value, Wright said. The

appraisal will then be sent to the Department of General Services for

review.

Barring a recall, the next step will be negotiations between

landowners and state officials.”There’s a light at the end of the

tunnel,” Biddle said. “We’re more in the tunnel than we have ever

been before, and the light’s getting brighter all time.”

* JENNY MARDER covers City Hall. She can be reached at (714)

965-7173 or by e-mail at [email protected].