Seal Beach : Commission to Consider Restaurant Proposal

A controversial proposal to convert two Main Street buildings to a Hennessey’s Tavern restaurant will come before the California Coastal Commission next week for final consideration.

The city staff recommended approval late last year, and the Planning Commission voted in favor. That action later was upheld by the City Council. However, several residents protested the methods used by city staff in arriving at its recommendation and the way the commission and council meetings were conducted.

The commission’s decision was appealed by Charles Antos, once the city’s principal planner; former Planning Commissioner James Gilkerson, and John Follis, a leading opponent of the hotly disputed Bixby Ranch Co. development recently approved by voters in a special election. The three original appellants were joined by 14 others.

Opponents argue that the staff, commission and council did not adequately address anticipated parking problems. They also charge that errors and omissions were made in granting several parking variances to the restaurant’s developers.

The Coastal Commission is scheduled to consider the proposal, including the parking variances, March 13 at the Shelter Island Marina Inn, 2051 Shelter Island Drive, San Diego.

The variances permit on-site parking for fewer cars than usually required, off-street parking more than 300 feet from the proposed restaurant and changes in the type, size and location of parking spaces usually required.

The staff, led by City Manager Allen Parker and Development Services Director John M. Baucke, contends that several precedents for the variances exist in Seal Beach.