HUNTINGTON BEACH : Ascon Site Cleanup to Continue Until ’95

Removal of toxics from the old Ascon oil-waste dump, where a company plans to build nearly 600 houses, will take about three years, development officials have told the City Council.

Representatives of NESI Investment Group, a Lawndale development company, met Monday afternoon with City Administrator Michael T. Uberuaga and council members. NESI officials briefly outlined building plans for the site. They said that removal of toxics, which began in January, will continue through the fall of 1995.

No construction on the land can begin until late 1995 at the earliest, NESI officials said.

The Ascon site is at the intersection of Magnolia Street and Hamilton Avenue, near Edison High School. The 38 acres of land is in a prime location, near the ocean and Pacific Coast Highway. It has remained undeveloped because of its toxic past.

In the late 1930s, the land was used as dump site for toxic oil sludge from the many oil wells then in operation in the city. In later years, the land became the dump site for asphalt and concrete waste.

When cleanup of the Ascon site began in January, NESI officials said they expected 8 million gallons of petroleum sludge to be pumped from the land. That cleanup work, initially forecast to last about 18 months, is taking longer than expected, company officials told the City Council on Monday.

The Planning Commission on Sept. 15 voted approval for development plans for the Ascon site, despite protests from some residents of the area who claimed more housing would cause an increase in traffic and other problems. NESI officials have said up to 591 housing units would be built on the 38 acres once cleanup is completed.

The City Council took no vote on the project on Monday.

Councilwoman Grace Winchell, however, told NESI representatives that she thinks part of the proposed development is too dense and needs to be scaled down.