Sale of Water to Koll Still a Possibility

The City Council this week agreed--barely--to keep negotiating with a builder over selling water to a planned Bolsa Chica development.

Before the 4-3 vote, some council members expressed impatience with Koll Co., which wants to build 2,500 homes on the Bolsa Chica mesa and hook them up to the Huntington Beach water system.

“I think the whole project is bankrupt on a moral point of view, and bankrupt financially,” Councilman Tom Harman said. “We’re going to get shorted on this deal; I just know we are.”

Mayor Ralph H. Bauer said he was skeptical that there is a demand for the homes, with vacancies in nearby developments Holly Seacliff and Meadowlark. He voted against negotiations, as did Harman and Councilman Dave Sullivan.

But Councilwoman Shirley S. Dettloff, who would prefer that the Bolsa Chica mesa be preserved just as the neighboring wetlands will be, said the city still must continue negotiating with Koll over water simply to protect its interests in case the homes are built.

“There will be a beautiful project there,” said Lucy Dunn, Koll senior vice president. “Except for Huntington Beach, the entire state knows this is going to happen.”

Koll is willing to talk to the city, Dunn said, but the company already has a vendor to provide water, though she wouldn’t identify the company.

“We’re prepared to build without the city,” she said. “It is, for Koll, strictly a business deal. The city, unfortunately, is tied up in the political side of this.”

--BY JOHN POPE AND STEVE CARNEY