A strong wave of wetlands advocates failed to sway the Huntington Beach City Council to keep five acres safe from development at Bolsa Chica wetlands.
Only one council member -- Mayor Pro Tem Jill Hardy -- voted to safeguard the acreage from being rezoned from park to low residential. The developer pushed for the change to build 22 single-family homes.
However, the environmentalists repeatedly made it clear during a four-hour debate Tuesday night hat the issue will be appealed to the state Coastal Commission.
The wetlands advocates argued that the homes are not compatible for the wetlands' sensitive ecosystem. But the main thrust of their criticism centered on concerns for the cultural resources of the area -- with some of the six historic sites featuring human remains and artifacts, some dating back 9000 years.
Many speakers were angry over the developer's handling in 2008 of scores of ancestral remains, along with artifacts buried with them, which had been unceremoniously bagged and stored in trailers for about two years.
At the time, critics charged the developer with keeping details secret to avoid restrictions on development at a significant site. Hearthside Homes officials countered that the details were provided in environmental reports.
Ed Mountford , senior vice president for Hearthside Homes, told the Tuesday night gathering --- that drew several hundred development opponents --- that there had been no misconduct at the site.
The mesa could be a giant grave, which would limit development of the site, the wetlands advocates contend..
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Joe Segura, a mild-mannered reporter for a major metropolitan newspaper, has covered Gotham City, er Long Beach, for 34 years. During his very, very long -- endless -- tenure, he's covered almost every beat, and he was the main writer for BeachWeek, which focused on life and lifestyles of the shoreline communities from downtown Long Beach to the Huntington Beach pier.
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