Huntington Beach planners approve 53 townhomes in two projects near City Hall

Two townhome projects near City Hall that will include units priced for moderate-income buyers won unanimous approval from the Huntington Beach Planning Commission on Tuesday night.

One of the developments, at 19100 Gothard St., will contain 21 units, two of which will be priced for buyers of moderate income — defined as earning 120% or less of the Orange County median income.

The second project, at 19200 Holly Lane, was approved for 32 units. Four of them will be priced for moderate incomes.

The units in both developments are planned to be two or three stories, ranging from about 1,700 square feet to 2,150 square feet and containing three or four bedrooms. Prices have not been announced.

On both projects, developer MLC Holdings of Newport Beach, a subsidiary of Arizona-based Meritage Homes Corp., a nationwide homebuilder, took advantage of a state law that allows various exemptions — including the ability to build more houses and have fewer parking spaces than city code usually requires — if some of the units are priced more affordably.

Commissioner John Scandura expressed concern about a parking deficiency on the Gothard project — 53 spots instead of the city-required 63. Most of the parking would be in the units’ two-car garages.

Scandura suggested taking out some of the project’s planned green space to make room for additional parking, though city staff said it didn’t feel comfortable making such a change during the hearing.

Commissioner Dan Kalmick, whose girlfriend bought a condominium in a similar type of development, said prospective buyers will know before purchasing that they can’t fit in too many cars.

“If you have four cars, you’re not gonna buy there,” he said.

Commission Chairwoman Connie Mandic said she wanted buyers of the Gothard property to receive disclosures that the development is near industrial and commercial sites that may generate noise and odors. The disclosures were approved as part of the overall site conditions.

The Holly Lane project was approved with 76 parking spots, fewer than the 96 that city code requires. MLC, however, will create some new street parking during construction to increase the neighborhood supply, officials said.

Some residents of existing condos in the Holly Lane area told the commission the new development would make the street parking situation even worse.

“It’s not gonna work,” Stephen Ernst said. “There’s just not enough space.”

Ernst said the streets got more full as the neighborhood’s empty lots were developed over the years and owners started renting to tenants.

Lester Tucker, a vice president with MLC, said he understood how the various exemptions his company was seeking for the projects — such as fewer parking spaces and smaller setbacks — would “give pause.”

In the end, he said, the exemptions are “truly innocuous” and will be indiscernible in the final products.

Of the Gothard development, Tucker said, “This is the right project in the right location with the right design for the right reasons.” He later echoed that for the Holly Lane project.

The Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce and the Building Industry Assn. of Southern California gave their support to the projects, saying they will provide much-needed housing for the region.

Both properties are owned by Costa Mesa resident Linda Stadel and are currently used for boat and recreational vehicle storage. They also contain oil wells.

Mixed-use project

In other action Tuesday, the Planning Commission reviewed a mixed-use project for 20 condominiums and commercial space at 414-424 Main St.

The development would be four stories tall, with three commercial tenants on the ground floor. The condos would contain one or two bedrooms.

The proposal is scheduled to return to the commission Jan. 23. Before that, the developer, Peter Zehnder, will hold a public event about the project from 6 to 8 p.m. Jan. 8 at the Central Library, 7111 Talbert Ave.

bradley.zint@latimes.com

Twitter: @BradleyZint