Bolsa Chica Land Trust v. Superior Court of San Diego County

Bolsa Chica was an undeveloped wetlands area bordering the Pacific Ocean. Bolsa Chica contained two environmentally sensitive habitat areas (ESHA): Walden Pond and a eucalyptus grove that functioned as a raptor habitat. Orange County (defendant), which owned 310 contiguous acres in Bolsa Chica, submitted a local coastal program (LCP) to the California Coastal Commission (Commission) for approval. Orange County’s LCP proposed (1) a residential development in the wetlands area, which would include razing the eucalyptus grove; (2) building a replacement raptor habitat in a nearby park; and (3) because the residential development would increase traffic, filling in Walden Pond to expand the existing road. The Commission approved the LCP, holding that (a) although the eucalyptus grove was an ESHA, it could be destroyed if its habitat value was replicated elsewhere; (b) the residential development on the wetlands was permitted because the Bolsa Chica wetlands were degraded, and the development could fund wetlands restoration elsewhere; and (c) Walden Pond could be filled under the incidental-public-use wetlands-development statutory allowance. The Bolsa Chica Land Trust (BCLT) (plaintiff) appealed the Commission’s decision. The trial court upheld the proposed destruction of the eucalyptus grove but reversed the remainder of the Commission’s decision, holding that (i) residential development was not permitted in wetlands; and (ii) the Commission failed to demonstrate that the public benefit of widening the road outweighed the environmental harm from destroying Walden Pond. BCLT appealed to the California Court of Appeal.