Shea makes use of delay

With a hearing on the controversial Parkside Estates housing development near the Bolsa Chica postponed a few more months to October or November, both sides say they are gearing up for next time. Still, opponents say they are dismayed because the 9-3 Coastal Commission vote last week to delay the hearing came soon after commission lawyers said the law wouldn’t allow such a postponement.

Commissioners said they felt it was unfair to make developer Shea Properties and the city respond to a staff report when some additions to it were released just a few days before the meeting. But the commission’s legal counsel said there was a hard deadline on considering the application; under that interpretation, the only way to hold off the meeting would be to pull the application and have the city turn it in again.

Though frustrated by the delay, Parkside opponent and activist Mark Bixby said ultimately it wouldn’t hurt his side’s case. He said he intends to keep researching more evidence of protected wetlands and wildlife habitat on the property.

At the meeting, commissioners in support of the postponement said they were disturbed to hear that some materials came out as recently as two days before the July 11 meeting.

“I’m really tired of jamming an applicant with a bunch of modifications at the last minute that make it impossible to respond in a responsible manner,” Commissioner Dave Potter said.

If Shea gets its way, the Parkside Estates development would consist of about 170 homes, taking up 38 acres of the 50-acre parcel of land. The project’s opponents say much of that land is wetlands, part of the adjacent Bolsa Chica ecosystem, and an important bird habitat.

Commissioner Sara Wan led the opposition to the motion, saying the commission could get into legal trouble by ignoring its counsel.

Neither side said they were surprised by the decision.

“We had been talking to coastal commissioners this week up there, and it was pretty clear they were leaning that way,” said Flossie Horgan, executive director of the Bolsa Chica Land Trust.

Shea spokesman Laer Pearce said commissioners had been sympathetic to his side’s frustrations over lack of time to respond, and his side got what it needed. He downplayed the importance of the commission’s legal advice, saying, “lawyers can argue both sides of the question all day long.”

Pearce said he didn’t expect the Land Trust or any other group to sue over possible legal problems with the vote, unless there was some “legal watchdog group fanatic about subsections in the Coastal Act.”

But Horgan said suing wasn’t completely off the table for the Land Trust.

“We have a very good track record in court,” she said. “We will look to our lawyers and review this issue and come to a decision.”

In the meantime, the Land Trust said it would be gathering more evidence against Shea and preparing for whenever the next meeting will be.

“The Land Trust will be ready if it’s six months or it’s six years,” Horgan said.