On the Coastal Tightrope : Dettloff’s new duties in midst of beach issues

On one side are developers wanting to build houses or hotels on the ocean. On the other is the guarantee, written into law a quarter-century ago, of public access to California’s beaches. In the middle will be Shirley Dettloff, mayor of Huntington Beach.

This month the Senate Rules Committee appointed Dettloff to the California Coastal Commission seat reserved for a public official from Los Angeles or Orange counties. She will take up the position as one of 12 commissioners in March.

Her job, and that of her fellow commissioners, is difficult. Pressures for development are increasing in California along with the economy. But the public’s support for the commission, especially its protections of people’s ability to get to the beach, is constant.

Dettloff was an early member of Amigos de Bolsa Chica, which did valuable work in fighting an overly large development proposed for the Bolsa Chica wetlands in Huntington Beach.

As a City Council member in the coastal city since 1995, she has monitored the process in which the developer, Koll Real Estate Group, has won approvals from various regulatory bodies, including the Coastal Commission, for the Bolsa Chica housing project. On Friday, a Superior Court judge ruled that the commission must have another hearing on the matter.

Various developers originally proposed building 6,000 homes on the lowland wetlands and on the mesa above. But after a decade of review, the number of homes approved dropped to 1,200. One favorable development was the state’s willingness to buy 880 acres of wetlands and make them a wildlife area rather than housing.

Some members of environmental groups opposed the appointment of Dettloff to the commission; others have supported her. And she herself has spoken frankly of the difficulty of balancing “private property ownership versus what’s best for the entire state and what’s best for the coast.”

Dettloff agrees that the ideal would be no development of Bolsa Chica or other coastal property, leaving open space as it is. But she also agrees that without money to buy property or other lands to exchange, that’s not realistic. The state was able to come up with the Bolsa Chica funds because the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach contributed $79 million in exchange for being allowed to expand. But it is difficult to find funds in such large amounts.

The Coastal Commission has proved consistently popular with the public since its establishment in 1976, four years after passage of the Coastal Initiative that paved the way for the state agency.

Among the proposals the commission will be considering before long is one to transform a part of Crystal Cove State Park north of Laguna Beach into a luxury beachfront resort with nightly room rates up to $400. Another resort has been proposed for the former Treasure Island trailer park in Laguna Beach, with hotel, homes, restaurant and park. Farther north, the Hellman Ranch property in Seal Beach could be the site of scores of homes and a golf course if the commission approves.

Central and Northern California also have development proposals the commission must address. Last month, it rejected plans for an ocean-side golf resort and other facilities near San Simeon and Hearst Castle.

With the economy improved, pressures for development have increased. Builders find it easier to get money from banks and are more confident that they can sell what they can build. The “move-up market” of home buyers is brisk, as people start trading up to bigger, more expensive homes. Residences on the coast will always be in demand, with their sweeping views of the ocean.

The Coastal Commission has to be aware of those pressures and examine proposed developments carefully. Its job is to protect the coastal environment. It also has to beware bars to public access to the ocean.

On city commissions and then as a council member, Dettloff has spent years scrutinizing proposals for development. She will need that experience to walk the tightrope and keep her pledge to honor the act that created the commission on which she will sit.