Eureka plans to develop a portion of Palco Marsh
Eureka plans to develop a portion of Palco Marsh
by Wendy Butler
The Eureka Reporter
July 15, 2004
Nearly 10 years after the window to develop part of PALCO Marsh was due to close, the city of Eureka has decided to move forward on it.
The California Coastal Conservancy gave the city a $600,000 grant in 1985 to purchase the marsh from The Pacific Lumber Co. Part of its contractual arrangement with the city was the agreement that by 1995, the city would either sell, lease or develop Parcel No. 4, which is the southernmost 15 acres of the PALCO Marsh.
As part of its contractual arrangement with the conservancy, the city was to develop a marsh-enhancement plan for approximately 45 acres of the property; it has recently submitted a revised plan to the conservancy.
The marsh includes brackish, salt and fresh water.
The city had at the time of purchase indicated it was interested in developing part of the marsh. A component in the agreement states the city can put a coastal-dependent development on Parcel No. 4.
“As the story goes, they gave us 10 years to either sell, lease or use Parcel 4 for a coastal-dependent industrial use,” said Gary Bird, Eureka’s special projects manager.
The 10 years was over in 1995, he said, and the conservancy has had the right to record an open-space easement over the entire property, but it has not.
In a letter written to the City Council and City Manager David Tyson, the Environmental Protection Information Center criticized the city for not following through with its contractual arrangement with the conservancy.
One of the requirements was that the city would provide a wetland survey of the area and delineate the areas it wants to develop.
Moira McEnespy, California Coastal Conservancy project manager, said she did receive the wetland survey this week.
“Since 1995, they’ve been asking for more time,” she said. “The conservancy has basically just, with sort of the spirit of cooperation, allowed the city more time.”
Bird said last week in closed session the City Council decided to actively pursue development on five of the 15 acres. The city’s wetland delineation study has identified this portion as a mariculture industrial park.
“We have to restore the area if it’s going to be used and developed,” he said. “Right now, it’s full of concrete and old industrial structures and we’re assuming it’s got some contamination on the site.”
The parcel is located behind the Bayshore Mall north of the foot of Truesdale Street.
Bird said the mariculture park would serve as a site on which agencies could enhance stock or replenish fish, including endangered species.
Private business would be able to lease or buy segments of the parcel and make their own improvements to suit their operations.
Part of the agreement with the conservancy was that if the city decided it was going to develop Parcel No. 4 it would need to repay the conservancy for the portion of land it chose to develop.
Bird said, and McEnespy confirmed, that if the city does develop the five acres, it will have to repay the conservancy approximately $90,000 of the $275,000 given by the conservancy for Parcel No. 4. He said he does not at present know where the city will find the purchase money.
The other 10 acres of the parcel are wetland habitat, he said, and the city will make it its responsibility to restore that portion.
EPIC’s letter also states that Parcel No. 4 contains two rare plant species. Those, according to EPIC, are the Humboldt Bay owl’s clover and the Point Reyes birds-beak, both members of the snapdragon family.
“Parcel 4 offers unsurpassed opportunities for restoration, with the potential to reclaim vital rearing habitat for … imperiled aquatic species,” the letter states.
McEnespy said knowledge of rare and endangered species in the marsh’s Parcel No. 4 does not change the conservancy’s contractual relationship with the city.
As the city develops the parcel, it will be required to comply with all permitting processes that are in place and those include requirements made by the California Coastal Commission, she said.
“Just because the Coastal Conservancy has allowed the city’s desire to pursue (development), that doesn’t mean that it’s some sort of blanket carte blanche,” she said.