The California Coastal Commission approved a development permit for LCW Partners, LLC, to retore part of the Los Cerritos Wetlands on Thursday, Nov. 3. The project is aimed at a 93-foot road located in the city of Long Beach.
In related news, the Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority will host the first public workshop for the Conceptual Restoration Plan for the Los Cerritos Wetlands. The first of six workshops will be held 6:30 to 8 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 10, at the Senior Center, at 707 Electric Ave., in Seal Beach.
Road restoration
The Coastal Commission permit application was moved to the Consent Calendar and approved, with conditions on Nov. 3.
“The proposed project, which is in the Los Cerritos Wetlands, is necessary to remove gravel fill (a 93-foot long road) from a coastal wetland and restore the site to its previous flat elevation and hydrological (water) conditions,” said the Coastal Commission staff report.
“The 93-foot long road was installed in early 2010 by the applicant, who formerly owned the property, at the direction of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in order to gain temporary vehicle access to a power pole and transistor that had to be removed to remediate a potential environmental hazard,” the report said.
“The surrounding wetland area is an oil producing area with several active wells. The city has granted the applicant permission to carry out the proposed restoration project, which is expected to commence in November 2011,” the report said.
The city of Long Beach has a Local Coastal Plan that allows the city to issue permits that normally would require Coastal Commission approval. However, the CCC staff report said the Los Cerritos Wetlands project area did not come under Long Beach’s LLC.
Wetlands workshop
The Los Cerritos Wetlands Authority will host the first of six workshops on the proposed restoraiton plan for the entire wetland area from 6:30 to 8 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 10, at the Senior Center, at 707 Electric Ave., in Seal Beach.
Moffatt & Nichol, the Wetland Authority’s consultant for the Conceptual Restoration Plan, will run the workshop in collaboration with the team of sub-consultants hired to develop the restoration plan.
“The properties proposed for acquisition and restoration total approximately 500 acres, straddle the counties of Los Angeles and Orange, and include portions of the cities of Long Beach and Seal Beach,” said the Wetlands Authority Web site.
The Wetlands Authority was created by the California Coastal Conservancy—a different agency from the Coastal Commission, despite the similarity of the names.
The Wetlands Authority is a joint powers authority composed of representatives of Seal Beach, Long Beach, the Coastal Conservancy and the Lower Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers and Mountains Conservancy.
The next meeting of the Wetlands Authority will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 14, at 3:30 p.m. in the District Office of Long Beach City Councilman Gary Delong.
His office is located at 340 Nieto Ave., Long Beach.
