Mesa sale is almost a done deal

The historic sale of the lower Bolsa Chica mesa to a conversation group is nearing completion, and both sides are nervously hoping a few bureaucratic obstacles can be overcome.

At a recent Coastal Commission hearing, staff members told Ed Mountford, vice president at Hearthside Homes, that it appeared his company had met all the conditions of approval for its coastal development permit to build 349 luxury homes on the upper portion of the Bolsa Chica. Due to staffing shortages, however, the commission couldn’t issue the permit until after the first of the year.

Mountford said the delays were unacceptable and argued that he needed to have the coastal development permit in his hand before agreeing to sell 102 acres of the lower wetlands in a $65 million deal with the Wildlife Conservation Board. Hearthside shareholders have until the end of the year to approve the sale and close escrow, and Mountford said they won’t budge unless they get their permit.

“Basically my hands are tied and there is nothing I can do to change that,” he said.

Environmentalists are concerned by what they call Mountford’s stubbornness. The project has been given the official green light, Bolsa Chica Land Trust Executive Director Marc Stirdivant said, and the Hearthside president is stalling because of a regulatory formality. “I don’t understand on why he insists on having the permits,” he said. “He’s always held the lower bench hostage, and it appears he will do it to the very end.”

Storm drain diversion program works to clean up local canals, ocean

City officials are hoping to clean up waters going into the Sunset Channel and have recently installed a diversion station in north Huntington Beach to divert urban runoff into the sewer system.

Public Works officials recently secured the county diversion permit for the Scenario facility, one of 15 pump stations throughout Huntington Beach that regulate storm drain flows into the canal system. Many of the waters that flow through the storm system come from inland areas as far away as Riverside County and carry oils, toxins and bacteria.

Those canals often dump out into the ocean or coastal communities. The new diversion permit will service canals that eventually dump into Huntington Harbor and is predicted to improve water quality, especially near Humboldt and Davenport islands.

The other nine diversion stations are located in the south part of town, utilities director Howard Johnson said. Over one billion gallons of water have passed through the system, which uses small electric pumps to divert the water into the sewer system for treatment.

“I believe we’ve had a positive impact,” he said.

The system can be used only during dry weather, Johnson said. Rain would easily overpower the small pumping system and, without a large reservoir, would create a storage problem.

For now, a wet-weather diversion program remains elusive, Johnson said.

“I don’t see any way we could possibly do that,” he said.

Monster waves bring monster online traffic

The world’s biggest online surfing forecasting website just broke its own record.

Officials with Huntington Beach based Surfline said the company broke records for new visitors and site visits in September. According to a report by WebTrends, Surfline.com enjoyed almost 1.25-million unique visitors and nearly 21-million pages views, the most ever in a 30-day span.

“These numbers validate our leadership position among surf-related online media,” said Jonno Wells, Surfline’s chief executive officer.

Surfline officials said the increase in traffic can be partially attributed to active surf during September. Most surfers saw few or no waves during the summer, but 8- to 10-foot swell sets started pounding Orange County beaches on Sept. 15. Surfline judged it to be the largest south swell of the year and dubbed it “The Monster from Down Under.”

“This data points to the appeal of Surfline’s content and to the deep relationship we have developed with our visitors,” said Sean Collins, president and chief forecaster for Surfline Inc.

Surfline was launched as the 976-SURF dial-up service in 1985, offering the world’s first commercially available surf reports and forecasts via phone. Surfline.com now boasts the Internet’s largest surf camera and report network, as well as more than 100 streaming video cameras in locations all around the world. When Collins introduced LOLA, the world’s first and only automated, computer-generated surf forecasting tool in 2001, surfers gained the ability to locate breaking waves at their favorite spots several days in advance. Earlier this year, Surfline deployed a wave-tracking device and technology test bed off the shores of the Huntington Beach Pier.

Yorktown Plaza finds a new owner

REZA Investment Group has completed the sale of Yorktown Plaza, a 20,895-square-foot strip mall at the corner of Yorktown Avenue and Brookhurst Street. Owner Cheryl Soos of Encino sold the property to JC Family Property Group of Los Angeles for $6.8 million. Michael Ha, a private broker from Los Angeles, represented the buyer.

The center is situated on about 2.2 acres of land. A mixture of local and national tenants occupies Yorktown Plaza, including 7-Eleven, Baskin Robbins, Little Caesar’s and local eatery Chicago for Ribs

Rents at the site are reportedly fairly low, averaging from $0.91 to $1.45 per square foot.