‘Dear Ron’ letters

Ron Davis’ column claiming that the recent decision by the California

Coastal Commission to protect the lower bench of the Bolsa Chica is a

“taking” is ludicrous (“Does more electricity mean more bacteria?” Jan.

18).

Using Davis’ argument, the city should pay me because it has “taken,”

through zoning, my right to open a dog kennel in my backyard.

After all, I am being denied the right to use my property to its

fullest economic value. Never mind that I moved into my house knowing

that it was in an area zoned for housing and not kennels.

When Hearthside Homes acquired the property on the Bolsa Chica mesa,

it was zoned agricultural. The company had every right to pursue

entitlements to build but certainly never any guarantees that these

entitlements would be granted.

The Coastal Commission does not have an obligation to reward land

speculation. Hearthside acquired the property knowing it is in the

state’s coastal zone and that it had environmentally sensitive habitat

areas that receive special protection under the Coastal Act.

In fact, the company actively worked to have some of the wetland areas

on the mesa reclassified into non-existence so they would not have to be

protected.

Hearthside understood the risks of trying to develop on a piece of

land protected by the Coastal Act.

The Coastal Commission has not taken anything from this company.

Hearthside can still build housing on about 70 acres. I am confident the

commission’s decision will be upheld in court.

DICK LeGRUE

Amigos de Bolsa Chica

Huntington Beach

* EDITOR’S NOTE: Dick LeGrue is the husband of Huntington Beach City

Councilwoman Connie Boardman.

I’d like to give Ron Davis a tour of the Bolsa Chica. If his article

is what he believes about “taking,” he should see firsthand what the

Coastal Commission’s unanimous decision really does.

It is no “taking.” Hearthside Homes, formerly Koll Real Estate Group,

should not even consider suing. It should take a fair price for its

$20-million investment.

The original owner, Signal Landmark, knew when it bought the Bolsa

Chica property that it had archeological sites, wetlands, vernal pools,

an earthquake fault and was the indigenous people’s burial grounds.

EILEEN MURPHY

Huntington Beach

* EDITOR’S NOTE: Eileen Murphy is a member of the Bolsa Chica Land

Trust.

Thievery? I think not. Because of the environmental concerns about the

Bolsa Chica, the Bolsa Chica Land Trust has been asking the owners of the

mesa to become willing sellers for the time of its existence.

The answer has been a consistent “no.”

But let’s look at who the real thieves are here. How about the people

who want to build and therefore steal away the viability of the wetlands?

Besides, no one ever was guaranteed the right to build just because they

own the land.

NANCY DONAVEN

Huntington Beach

I completely agree with Ron Davis’ column. I am 21 and have been

calling Huntington Beach my home for 20 years.

I’ve seen many things in this city that are comical for a lack of a

better word. But the recent decision regarding the Bolsa Chica plan and

now a lack of compensation for Hearthside Homes is appalling to me.

Just for argument’s sake, let’s say the opposition was in the shoes of

Hearthside Homes. I don’t doubt they would fight tooth and nail to

receive just compensation.

I find it amusing that most people who oppose Hearthside Homes really

don’t have the slightest idea what they’re about. It isn’t just building

homes. (Maybe people should spend more time getting educated than

slinging false facts.)

The bottom line is this: Yes, there will be homes. But what about the

restoration and public amenities that the developer will be footing a

hefty bill for?

It seems to me that the citizens of Huntington Beach are losing more

now than the developer ever could.

CASEY ESTRADA

Huntington Beach

Orange County has a power crisis, overloaded sewers, urban runoff,

polluted beaches, overcrowded freeways, water shortages and too many

people everywhere.

It is laughable that some entertain the possibility that developers

have a “right” to continue on their greedy way, building and paving over

every possible square inch of land without responsibility for the damage

they are doing.

For the last half-century, developers have had free reign on building.

Developers have made such enormous profits that they are among the

richest people in the county. They are speculators who take

free-enterprise risks that their projects will make a profit. They should

not expect to be bailed out when it turns out they have made a bad

investment.

In 1950, Huntington Beach had a population of 5,258; today it is

200,000. It is time to pause and take stock of the situation. We need to

solve the problems.

It is pure, unadulterated hypocrisy to speak of property rights as if

they are sacred, when those rights are based on a history of taking land

from Native Americans, who lived at the Bolsa Chica for thousands of

years. And it is time to ask about their rights.

MARINKA HORACK

Huntington Beach