Recall delay may aid Bolsa purchase

Jenny Marder

An appellate court decision to postpone the recall election to March

could be a boon for environmentalists in their battle to save the

Bolsa Chica Mesa from development.

Gov. Gray Davis’ commitment to secure funding for the purchase of

the wetlands could fall through if he is recalled on Oct. 7. A March

date, however, would give state officials time to finish appraising

the land and to make an offer to landowner Hearthside Homes.

In early August, Assemblyman Tom Harman and Davis made a deal in

which Harman agreed to support the $99.1-billion state budget if

Davis would secure funding for the mesa. The swap was hailed as one

of the biggest steps in the 30-year battle to save the wetlands.

“It was wonderful news because we had the governor’s office saying

something positive about saving land in Orange County,” said Flossie

Horgan, executive director of the Bolsa Chica Land Trust. “The amount

of land that gets preserved is almost nil down here. Yes, he did get

the message. Yes, he did believe that Bolsa Chica would be

preserved.”

The decision on Monday by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals panel

to postpone the election date is also a relief to some supporters of

the land. The three-judge panel ruled against holding an election

when six counties, Los Angeles included, still have outdated punch

card machines.

“If you’re just looking at this issue, I think it would be a

benefit that the recall’s postponed,” said Bob Biddle, Harman’s chief

of staff. “If we’re just looking at the Bolsa Chica Mesa, the delay

on the recall will keep everything going the way it’s been going so

far.”

The court’s decision likely will face an appeal.

An appraisal of the land by the Wildlife Conservation Board, which

began in March, is still not complete, said Al Wright, executive

director of the state agency. The draft of the appraisal is still

prone to amendments before it gets sent to the Department of General

Services for final review, a process which could take another four or

five weeks, Wright said. The final step will be negotiations between

landowners and state officials.

He would not speculate on when the appraisal would be finalized,

but said it couldn’t possibly be done by Oct. 7.

“We’d like to be able to take advantage of this current situation

as long as possible so that we could see that appraisal and let the

process play out to its best extent,” said Evan Henry, president of

the Bolsa Chica Land Trust. “If certain things are looking positive,

we’d like to see those positive things turn out. [Postponing the

election] is probably more advantageous to that approach, unless the

status quo is maintained through the recall election.”

The recall election is not the only thing standing in the way of

environmentalists.

Hearthside Homes, which has plans to build 388 single-family homes

on the 65-acre upper mesa, also presents a roadblock. The developer

has not yet agreed to sell the land.

A lack of state funding could also slow the purchase.

“We’re worried that there is only so much money,” Horgan said.

“There are a lot of other projects that need funding. If the money is

indeed gone because other projects have taken the money, then we are

in serious trouble.”

Still, none of these hurdles will deter the environmental group

from its fight.

“We push on regardless,” Horgan said. “We will do anything to help

this move forward.”