H.B. neighborhood may receive $90,000 energy grant from UCI
Huntington Beach’s Oak View neighborhood could receive a slew of new renewable-energy sources to power itself, including solar panels and natural gas, under a program approved by the City Council this week.
On Monday the council voted 5-1, with Councilmen Dave Sullivan dissenting and Billy O’Connell recusing himself because he owns property in the area, to accept a $90,000 grant from UC Irvine, whose Advanced Power and Energy Program will study how Oak View could implement and benefit from the technology.
The study ends in March 2018.
Oak View — a predominantly Latino neighborhood generally bounded by Slater and Warner avenues and Beach Boulevard and Nichols Lane — was chosen after UCI partnered with City Hall to identify a disadvantaged area that could benefit from renewable-energy technology, said Jack Brouwer, associate director for the Advanced Power and Energy Program.
Councilwoman Barbara Delgleize, a real estate agent, said the energy-saving technology could help homeowners.
“Our industry is on the cutting edge of change,” she said, “and I think these new technologies can help the homeowners, long term, save money and energy.”
Oak View residents expressed concerns Monday about the project.
After the vote, Victor Valladares, co-founder of Oak View Comunidad, an activist group, said residents fear they could be priced out of their homes if renewable technology is installed.
“It’s good if it’s just the planning stages, but we’re always going to have concerns because the city kept on saying they want Huntington Beach to become Silicon Valley,” he said. “They’re pricing everybody out over there.”
Valladares said Oak View’s infrastructure, like its deteriorating buildings, should be addressed first.
Brouwer said gentrification is not the goal, although it could happen.
He said UCI plans to host regular meetings, including ones specifically with Oak View residents, to gather input.
Sullivan said he was not keen on Huntington Beach being the pilot city for the UCI program.
“I’m not interested in Huntington Beach being the leaders in this area,” he said. “We can have some other city do it.”
Twitter: @BrittanyWoolsey
