Bolsa Chica Quandary ven with the Coastal Act in place to guide development, the disposition of many coastal properties remains a complicated and contentious business. The law is subject to interpretation, coastal commissioners are courted for their votes, other statutes and public agencies bear on land use options, citizens groups campaign for their interests. Tremendous financial and staff resources must be mobilized to resolve disputes. Each of these factors has been in play at Bolsa Chica, where a 25-year conflict finally appears to be near resolution. Bolsa Chica is a complex of 1,300 acres of historic wetlands and 300 acres of mesa in Orange County, surrounded by the City of Huntington Beach. Although much of the lowland acreage is isolated from tidal circulation and there is an active oil field on the site, the remaining wetlands teem with shorebirds and waterfowl. The state has already acquired 300 acres, 150 of which are the site of a spectacularly successful wetland restoration project. Local citizens have campaigned tirelessly for protection and restoration of the remaining 1,000 lowland acres, led by the Amigos de Bolsa Chica and joined more recently by the Bolsa Chica Land Trust and others. The principal private owner of both the mesa and the lowlands has been equally persistent in pursuing development in this affluent, densely populated area. In January 1996, acting against the recommendation of its staff, the Coastal Commission voted to allow 900 houses on 180 acres of the lowlands, as well as 2,500 units on the mesa, with remaining lowlands to be restored. The lowland site approved for development is interspersed with wetlands. Commission staff had advised that housing in coastal wetlands is not allowed under the Coastal Act. Various citizens groups have since sued the Commission. Soon after the Commission acted, it held hearings to consider firing its executive director, Peter Douglas. A deluge of public support for Douglas followed, and the matter was tabled. The change of speakership in the State Assembly, coupled with the changes in the speaker's appointees to the Commission, seems to have quieted the challenge. Meanwhile, a coalition of public agencies has been working to secure protection for the contested lowlands through nonregulatory means. As of January 1997, a deal appears to be likely. It involves eight state and federal agencies, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and the principal landowner, Koll Real Estate Group. Koll is willing to sell 880 acres of the lowlands, including 140 acres on which the Commission has approved construction of housing. The ports will provide almost all the funding-$67.75 million as of this writing-to acquire the property and restore wetlands on 600 acres. Restoration of the remaining 280 acres must wait until oil extraction facilities are removed, in 15 years or so. The Coastal Conservancy is providing $1.5 million, including $500,000 granted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and additional funding is being sought. In exchange for funding wetland restoration, the ports will secure 454 acres of mitigation credit to offset impacts of filling marine habitat in San Pedro Harbor. The ports need to undertake this development to remain competitive with other West Coast ports, but must provide mitigation for adverse impacts on fish and wildlife habitat. All the agencies that must act to complete this deal have done so. The last issue to be resolved hinges on responsibility for cleaning up contaminants on the site. Even though the current oil field operator has begun cleanup, additional work is needed to comply with state and federal statutes before wetland restoration begins. The parties to the project hope that this last issue, perhaps the most complex and challenging of all, can be resolved in time to acquire the property by the end of February. If this deal goes through as planned, those who have fought long and hard for these wetlands will have won a substantial victory: Another 880 acres of historic wetlands will be protected permanently. Some 600 acres of wetlands will be restored, providing vital habitat for resident and migratory shorebirds and waterfowl, marine fisheries, and the many other species that rely upon scarce coastal wetlands for their continued existence. An additional 280 acres will be held in public ownership for future restoration. As part of the deal, the ports will receive mitigation credit that will enable them to undertake development that is vital to the state's economy. Melanie Denninger