Overlooking the expansive coastal wetlands at Bolsa Chica, where great blue herons and cormorants glide above blossoming mustard and a grove of eucalyptus, a weed-lined trail winds between a row of luxury view homes and jarringly barren land crisscrossed with white plastic water pipe.
The contrast of the visual scar with the green, seaward open vistas and lagoons on the state wildlife preserve is visible to passersby on Warner Avenue and has been a source of aggravation to nearby residents for years.
Now officials with the California Coastal Commission are investigating whether the builder of the luxury homes violated its development permit by failing to improve the habitat, including an area for threatened squirrel-size burrowing owls.