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In a decision that could have statewide repercussions, a Superior Court judge issued a tentative ruling Tuesday that says the California Coastal Commission erred in allowing residential development on the Bolsa Chica wetlands and in permitting the filling of Warner Pond near Huntington Beach.
Attorneys for both sides called the ruling by Judge Judith McConnell significant. Based on her interpretation, the California Coastal Act prohibits residential development in wetland areas even if developers help wetland restoration.
If it stands, McConnell's ruling could affect proposed residential development along the California coastline because she effectively overturned a January 1996 ruling by the Coastal Commission that allowed such projects to proceed.
McConnell, considered an environmentally friendly jurist in San Diego, expects to render her final ruling by Thursday. Based on her reaction to Tuesday's oral arguments in court, neither side predicted that the final ruling would be significantly different from Tuesday's tentative one.
At the time the commission approved the Bolsa Chica development, four swing votes were cast by appointees of then-Assembly Speaker Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove), who had publicly supported the developers. Since then,...