First State Agency Votes to Pivot: Ballona Wetlands Bulldozing Project

More than 13 years after an initial scoping process was announced by the US Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) and California Department of Fish & Wildlife (CDFW) for a proposed industrial bulldozing project at the Ballona Wetlands near Playa del Rey, the first State agency has voted to pivot to consider alternative approaches to the long-planned construction project that would destroy hundreds of acres of habitat relied on by rare and endangered species. The project, which was conceived of during the Schwarzenegger Administration has been highly controversial in the surrounding neighborhoods and with environmental and social justice groups throughout the State.

At the first quarter meeting of the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission, the Governing Board voted 18-2 on a resolution put forth by Hermosa Beach Mayor Dean Francois and outgoing Chair, Jonathan Bishop that would appear to be an attempt to move away from what many have seen as a hardened stance against consideration of a gentler approach to restoration of a beloved landscape that has been the focus of environmental activists for more than 50 years.

Dozens of activists participated in the meeting, both virtually and in person, after a year-long effort to support Mayor Francois and former Santa Monica Mayor Phil Brock voicing concerns about the project, both of whom had raised concerned about a project that, if begun, would last at least nine years and cost nearly $500,000,000.

Four lawsuits filed against CDFW culminated in the State’s Environmental Impact Report (EIR) being decertified, with a Superior Court Judge ruling that all approvals must be removed. The initial proposal was originally conceived of and championed by the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission and its private partner, The Bay Foundation.

“We are so grateful that the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission Governing Board listened to the public, and decided to move toward a different direction at Ballona. We are especially thankful that California Senator Ben Allen raised his voice in support of Mayor Brock and Mayor Francois when they asked why a gentler approach to protect this fragile ecosystem couldn’t be considered,” stated Robert “Roy” van de Hoek, an environmental scientist who has been observing and documenting wildlife at this coastal haven on the Los Angeles coast since he was a college student decades ago at California State University Northridge (CSUN.)

Numerous activist leaders in the Defend Ballona Wetlands coalition have voiced enthusiasm for helping to move the intent of this resolution forward by suggesting activities at the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve that stakeholders can agree on will support protection of this mosaic of habitats.

The Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve was designated in 2005 and remains as the only State Ecological Reserve in all of Los Angeles County. Several endangered and rare species have returned to Ballona since the land was acquired for the public in 2003.