Ballona Wetlands

the Ballona Wetlands, Los Angeles County’s last major coastal marsh. Some 250 acres of wetlands and related open space are located in an approximately 1,000-acre parcel long used by industrialist Howard Hughes as an aircraft manufacturing facility. When Hughes died, officials of his Summa Corporation proposed a huge new development on the site, including high-rise office buildings, stores, hotels, residences and a marina. When the California Coastal Commission approved Summa’s Playa Vista plan, CLIPI went to court on behalf of the Friends of the Ballona Wetlands. Shortly after Maguire Thomas Partners becomes the lead developer, Nelson Rising, its then-project manager, agrees to preserve all key wetland areas, to fully restore the wetlands, and to dramatically reduce environmental impacts by completely redesigning the development project.