Residents Petition City Council to Stop Golden Bear Demolition
Dozens of Huntington Beach residents Tuesday night continued their public outcry against the pending demolition of the Golden Bear, urging the City Council to spare Orange County’s oldest nightclub.
Doug Longevin presented the council with more than 2,600 signatures in support of the Golden Bear. He said he and others will collect “as many signatures as it takes to stop the City Council” from demolishing the 57-year-old structure.
The city has plans to raze the club as part of its downtown redevelopment plan, paving the way for a 300-room, high-rise hotel.
“Future generations should have an opportunity to enjoy Huntington Beach the way I did,” said Don Johnson, a 23-year-old sheet metal worker who attended the council meeting. “I want to be able to take my 4-year-old nephew to see what Huntington Beach was like when it began, not some Marriott Hotel, which he could see anywhere.”
In a related matter, the council was expected to grant the Huntington Beach Historical Society an additional 30 days to complete its survey to determine which of the 58 buildings in the redevelopment area are of historical value. An extension would postpone demolition of the Golden Bear.
“It’s the survey that’s saving the Golden Bear for now,” said historian Barbara Milkovich, one of the people spearheading the study.
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