STATE COASTAL COMMISSION ORDERS HITCHCOCK TO RESTORE WETLANDS HE ILLEGALLY RAVAGED IN 2009
By Heather Altman
The 2H Construction/Sean Hitchcock illegal grading matter was heard today at the California Coastal Commission meeting in Santa Monica, and the Coastal Commissioners did something that the City of Long Beach never really seemed able to do. They unequivocally, angrily and unanimously sent Mr. Hitchcock a message: you screwed up and there are consequences. Several commissioners could not hide their disdain, or skepticism, at Mr. Hitchcock’s actions and rationales.
Hitchcock had it coming, of course. He did a pretty stupid thing, and it wasn’t exactly legal. In March 2009 he razed approximately nine acres of the Los Cerritos Wetlands complex, ripping off the landfill cap, exposing humans and critters to dangerous levels of methane. Oh, yeah—and he didn’t have any permits. He just wanted to do a little weed abatement with his bulldozers and then lay a little asphalt down … as one typically does in wetlands areas of the California Coastal Zone.
To make matters worse, it looked like Hitchcock was going to get away with it. He sailed right through the City of Long Beach Zoning hearing with nary a scratch. He did, though, hit a speed bump at the Planning Commission when the commissioners directed the City to prepare a restoration plan. However, the City pushed the matter up to the CCC, sans plan. Bullet dodged.
Fortunately, though, the Coastal Commissioners were having none of Mr. Hitchcock’s shenanigans. Coastal Commission staff made recommendations for a restoration and monitoring plan, and the Commissioners added to them. Sean Hitchcock is to: 1) restore the contours which he bulldozed—I mean, weed abated; 2) up the percentage of native plants onsite from 75% to 80%, an onerous jump; and 3) add an impermeable landfill cap to keep ponding water out of the landfill. The CCC is also requiring third-party monitoring throughout the life of the project—ya know, because Mr. Hitchcock doesn’t exactly have a sterling track record.
These are solid conditions, I think. I’m particularly glad to see the bit about the contours.
All in all, it was a good day, at least for the environmentalists who recognized this for the egregious action it was, and just wouldn’t let it drop.
And to the Coastal Commissioners who upheld the Coastal Act and sent a clear message that this illegal activity isn’t okay? Thank you.
READ MORE AT HEATHER ALTMAN’S BLOG EgretsNotRegrets.com
2 Comments
Darn. I was hoping the cc would order Mr. Psycho to clear out the garbage dump first, so as to begin with a clean environmental slate. However, I suppose one shouldn’t look a raped gift horse in the impacted buttocks, as they say.
Rats. I was hoping for the city to get investigated. Yeah Jason, because that landfill is next to coastal waters who knows what could be leaching from beneath into the water table or the ocean. Back when it was filled I don’t think they lined landfills. At least now they will clay cap at lease in part which will keep the water from seeping through the trash if Hitchcock doesn’t figure out a way to wiggle out of this one too. I don’t know why the government does not require clay cap resealing every x amount of years…clay will naturally erode away…breaking the seal, so all the waste management trade publications I’ve read say…make one wonder…