June 12, 2002
Contact: John T. Buse, EDC (805) 677-2570

GROUPS FILE LAWSUIT TO PROTECT HABITAT AT NORTH SHORE
ON OXNARD COAST
Proposed Project at Mandalay Beach Would Destroy Sensitive Habitat and Violate Coastal Act

OXNARD - Three environmental groups filed a lawsuit yesterday against the California Coastal Commission and the City of Oxnard challenging their approval of a Local Coastal Program Amendment for the North Shore at Mandalay Bay Project, a 360-unit gated development that would be annexed to Oxnard. The California Native Plant Society (CNPS) and the Sierra Club, represented by the Environmental Defense Center (EDC), and Wetlands Action Network, represented by Chatten-Brown and Associates, contend that the Coastal Commission's decision on April 12 to certify an amendment to Oxnard's Local Coastal Program (LCP) violates the Coastal Act by allowing destruction of wetlands and sensitive coastal resources. In filing the lawsuit, the groups seek to protect sensitive habitat on the North Shore site and reverse a bad policy decision that could allow development of other coastal wetlands and environmentally sensitive habitat areas throughout the state.

The site of the proposed North Shore project, next to Mandalay State Beach in Oxnard, contains coastal dune and wetland habitat, as well as the only known natural population of the Ventura Marsh Milkvetch, a plant species that was rediscovered in 1997 after it had been deemed extinct. Due to the site's former use as an oilfield waste disposal site and resulting contamination, development of the project would require that almost the entire site be excavated and remediated, which would destroy the sensitive habitats onsite. Although the California Coastal Act contains strong policies protecting coastal wetlands and sensitive habitats, in approving the North Shore LCP amendment, the Commission determined that wetlands and environmentally sensitive habitats could be eliminated because the purported benefits of cleaning up the site to allow the construction of luxury homes outweighed the harm to sensitive coastal resources. CNPS, the Sierra Club, and Wetlands Action Network contend, however, that the Coastal Act does not allow this "balancing". In addition, no evidence links the current site contamination to drinking water contamination, human health effects, or harm to coastal resources.

CNPS, the Sierra Club, and Wetlands Action Network support cleanup of the site, but not merely to accommodate the construction of homes in wetland and environmentally sensitive habitat areas. Although restoration of portions of the habitat would occur after remediation, the North Shore LCP amendment would still allow the outright destruction of the sensitive coastal habitats during the remediation process in direct violation of the Coastal Act's policies prohibiting development of wetlands and environmentally sensitive habitat areas. The project would also affect adjacent coastal resources, including Snowy Plover nesting habitat at nearby Mandalay State Beach, prompting State Parks to request denial of the LCP amendment. The groups are requesting that the Coastal Commission and Oxnard reverse their approvals of the LCP amendment until the Coastal Act violations are remedied.
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"The Coastal Act places a high priority on protecting the state's coastal wetlands," said John Buse, staff attorney with the Environmental Defense Center in Ventura. "The Coastal Commission made the wrong decision here, and this decision does not bode well for our remaining coastal wetlands."

This action follows a lawsuit filed by EDC and CNPS in 1999 based on Oxnard's inadequate environmental review of the North Shore project's effects on the Ventura Marsh Milkvetch and other sensitive habitat. In a settlement agreement, the project was redesigned to avoid the Milkvetch and other sensitive dune habitat, a larger buffer area was included, and Oxnard agreed to grant a conservation easement on nearby coastal dune habitat that it owns. The project was further redesigned during the Coastal Commission's review.

"CNPS is extremely concerned about the Commission's willingness to violate Coastal Act resource protection policies to facilitate the building of expensive homes. CNPS will do what is necessary to ensure that California's coastal resources are protected as intended and required under the Coastal Act," said David Magney, CNPS Member of Board of Directors and Channel Islands Chapter Conservation Chairman.

"The Coastal Commission and Oxnard have given developers throughout the state the green light to destroy wetlands," said Alan Sanders, Los Padres Chapter Conservation Director of the Sierra Club. "This decision must not stand."

The Environmental Defense Center is a non-profit, public interest environmental law firm serving California's Central Coast. Since 1977, EDC has provided public education, organizing, advocacy, and legal services to community groups dedicated to environmental quality and health. For more information, please contact John Buse at (805) 677-2570 or visit our website at http://www.edcnet.org.

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