City Council to Open Bolsa Chica Meetings

HUNTINGTON BEACH —  Following complaints from environmentalists and community activists, the City Council will stop holding closed meetings about housing development proposed for the Bolsa Chica wetlands area.

Only when the city is ready to decide how much to charge the developer, Koll Co., for water service will the council consider closing its meeting, the board decided Monday night.

The council voted 6 to 0 to keep interim discussions in the open, despite assurances from City Atty. Gail Hutton of the legality of a Jan. 13 closed meeting, as well as one scheduled for next Monday. The council canceled that meeting.

Hutton and Councilman Dave Garofalo were out sick Monday night.

Hutton had told the council it was within the law in closing its discussions so that Koll would not find out the city’s negotiation plans.

“They just feel it’s more important to let the public know what’s being discussed,” Hutton said Tuesday.

Half a dozen residents spoke out about the closed session. Mark Porter of the citizen group Huntington Beach Tomorrow said it may be more “comfortable” for the council to meet in secret, “but you aren’t here to be comfortable. You’re here to do the public’s business, and that can be very uncomfortable.”

Koll needs the water for its proposed 2,400-home development in Bolsa Chica, but will get it elsewhere if Huntington Beach charges too much. The site would need a 9-million-gallon reservoir as part of the water system, on land to be purchased by Koll.