Huntington Beach agrees to remove Pacific City and 3 PCH hotels from downtown business group

The Huntington Beach City Council on Monday reversed an earlier decision and agreed to remove the Pacific City commercial center and three hotels on Pacific Coast Highway from the Downtown Business Improvement District.

During a public hearing on renewing the BID’s annual contract, Pacific City’s chief retail officer, Stenn Parton, said all of the center’s 67 tenants raised concerns about helping to pay for amenities that don’t benefit their area on PCH, such as the Surf City Nights street fair, which is held Tuesdays along Main Street.

The Pasea Hotel & Spa and the Hilton and Hyatt waterfront hotels also have expressed doubts about the benefits of being in the BID, and they also were removed Monday on a 4-2 council vote.

BID members pay dues that help provide events in the downtown area along with private security, tree trimming, holiday decor, social media marketing and extra cleaning and daily porter services. In July, the BID hired extra security on Main Street to act as “extra eyes” for the Huntington Beach Police Department for a four-month pilot public safety program.

But some members voiced discontent in recent letters to city officials, saying they haven’t seen “immediate benefits.”

On Aug. 20, the City Council voted 4-1 to deny a request by Pacific City and the three hotels to opt out of the group because council members wanted to give the new BID leadership a chance to work out the problems.

But on Monday, Mayor Mike Posey, who was absent for the August vote, led a motion to modify the district’s boundaries to exclude Pacific City and the three hotels.

Posey said in an interview that he met with representatives of the businesses before the vote and felt they made “compelling arguments.”

Council members Erik Peterson and Lyn Semeta, who voted last month to keep the BID as is, did so again Monday.

Councilman Billy O’Connell recused himself because of his downtown business interests.

City Clerk Robin Estanislau said the city received 50 letters from BID members expressing dissatisfaction. The district has 270 members.

Some members used the public hearing Monday to voice their concerns.

“If you take a step back and see the shoe on the other foot [and] downtown Main Street and Pier Plaza were required to pay dues for Pacific City, I don’t think they’d be very happy about that,” Parton said.

Parton said Pacific City tenants collectively contribute $36,000 a year in BID membership dues, or about 27% of the district’s budget.

Louis Lopez, owner of Orange County Barbers Parlor on Main Street, contended the amenities provided by the BID don’t benefit his shop.

“I’m a small-business owner; I can barely afford all the regular business fees,” Lopez said.

Steve Daniel of Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory spoke in support of keeping the BID unified. He said a shuttle transporting guests in the hotels to other parts of town could help.

“We’re a gorgeous downtown,” he said. “We need to work together — the city and all the BID members.”

BID President Matt Peterson did not immediately provide a comment Tuesday but said last month that he planned to “aggressively court” reluctant members.

Priscella.Vega@latimes.com

Twitter: @vegapriscella