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Brightwater

Project Description:

Coastal Development Permit (CDP) No. 5-05-020 was issued for Brightwater by the California Coastal Commission in December 2005 for 349 single-family homes on approximately 68 acres and habitat protection/restoration on approximately 37 acres.

Brightwater Map

The approximately 105.9-acre site is located at the northeast corner of the Bolsa Chica Mesa and is generally bounded by Los Patos Avenue to the north, Warner Avenue to the northwest and the terminus of Bolsa Chica Street to the east. A total of 105.3 acres of the site is currently located within the County of Orange. The remaining approximately 0.6-acre portion of the site area is located within the City of Huntington Beach between the existing Sandover homes and the Brightwater Development Project.

Brightwater development project was annexed to the City of Huntington Beach in multiple phases as homes were constructed consistent with a Pre-annexation Agreement between the City and Hearthside Homes. Open space areas on the perimeter of the residential development was also annexed into the City.

Environmental Review

The Draft Negative Declaration (DND) analized potential impacts associated with the project, which involved three components: 1) annexation of the Brightwater Development Project (BDP) into the City of Huntington Beach; 2) prezoning for portions of the BDP presently located within the County of Orange jurisdiction; and 3) rezoning for the portions of the site located within the City of Huntington Beach from RL (Residential Low Density) to Specific Plan.

The Brightwater Development Project (BDP), comprises 105.3 acres including a 37.1-acre habitat preservation and creation area. The BDP received entitlements from Orange County and the California Coastal Commission (CCC) in 2005. An EIR that analyzed potential impacts associated with the construction of the homes, open space and infrastructure was certified by the County of Orange. Thus, a Draft Negative Declaration was processed by the City to analyze the change in jurisdictional boundaries due to the annexation, adoption of the Specific Plan and the associated amendments to the City's zoning map.

In addition to the 105.3 acre BDP site, the project site analyzed in the ND included another 0.6 acres that are located within an undeveloped area in the City's jurisdiction between the BDP and the existing Sandover project. (For location of this area, refer to Exhibit 1.11-1 of the attached draft specific plan.) As explained in the ND, the majority of this area will be incorporated into the Specific Plan area, allowing for four additional homes to be built beyond the 349 homes that the Coastal Commission has already approved, subject to receiving required entitlements. In addition, the Specific Plan identifies two additional lots for future home construction also subject to receiving required entitlements. A small portion of the area that will be annexed will be prezoned to RL, instead of Specific Plan, so that one additional lot can be incorporated into the Sandover project. All of these additional units were previously analyzed in the Subsequent EIR that was certified by the County of Orange.

Project Status: 

Final homes under construction

Public Documents

Draft Negative Declaration

Specific Plan

Due to the size of the file, Appendix Item C, the Habitant Management Plan, is not available on the City of Huntington Beach website. To view a copy of this document, please visit the Public Zoning Counter at City Hall. This document is a reference item approved by the California Coastal Commission; the City of Huntington Beach has no ministerial authority over the contents of the Habitat Management Plan."

Project Planner

Jason Kelley

Last Updated: March 2018


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City of Huntington Beach
Planning Division
2000 Main Street
Huntington Beach, CA
Phone: (714) 536-5271
Fax: (714) 374-1648
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