Beach City Going Ahead With Project by the Pier

Downtown Huntington Beach, the scene of many a dashed renovation plan over the past two decades, is due to get what city officials say is a much-needed face lift in the form of a $27-million complex of shops and restaurants at the pier.

Pierside Village, the project that planners hope will spark other plans to upgrade what they said is a deteriorating downtown, passed a final hurdle before the City Council Monday night.

The council unanimously overrode a last-ditch appeal by a residents’ group after more than four hours of often raucous debate in the packed council chambers.

The development, which will be built south of the Huntington Beach Pier on the ocean side of Pacific Coast Highway, had already received the city’s approval. But a group espousing slower growth appealed, forcing the hearing Monday night. The controversial hearing drew a capacity crowd of about 300 people, about evenly divided between supporters and opponents of the project.

Called Overly Ambitious

Members of the slow-growth group, Huntington Beach Tomorrow, said they are not opposed to development but believe that Pierside Village is an overly ambitious project. “We are not a no-growth group,” chairwoman Geri Ortega said.

Some opponents claimed that there had not been enough public input and that it was being pushed through by a “pro-development” City Council.

Lance Jacot criticized Councilman Jack Kelly’s replacement of Planning Commissioner Jean Schumacher last month because of her opposition to the project. “I’ve seen some bottom-of-the-barrel maneuvers before, but that was the worst,” he said on the podium.

When the crowd began to hoot and applaud and Kelly took a bow, Mayor Robert P. Mandic Jr. appealed for a more dignified discussion. The hearing needn’t deteriorate to a shouting match between “Yahoos,” he said.

Other speakers urged approval of the project, citing the area’s deteriorating nature, lack of amenities and high crime rates. One even referred to the downtown area as a “drug-infested environment.” Most supporters said they had been given adequate details of the project.

“I’ve never lived in a community that’s kept me more informed,” James Johnson said.

Once complete, the project will include about 87,500 square feet of space on the ocean side of Pacific Coast Highway and mark the first step in the city’s plan to renovate its aging downtown. The plan includes construction of restaurants and shops on the expanded section of the pier.

Maxwell’s Restaurant, next to the pier and facing the highway, will remain, but its relatively new facade will be remodeled to match the Greek-Mediterranean style of architecture planned for the area. Pierside Village will have three major restaurants (including Maxwell’s) and a three-level parking structure for a total capacity of more than 696 parking spaces, developer Bryant L. Morris said.

Morris will build the project in partnership with Huntington Pacifica Inc. and the city’s Redevelopment Agency.

Additional Possibility

Pierside Village would also include 60 retail shops and a pedestrian overcrossing if a hotel is constructed on the inland side of Pacific Coast Highway as part of a separate project. But Morris stressed his belief that the commercial center could stand on its own, regardless of whether a hotel is built.

A second phase of Pierside Village, yet to go before the council, would include additional construction just north of the pier. If approved, the final redevelopment area would cover about 100,000 square feet with parking for 1,800 cars.

Morris, who designed Long Beach’s Shoreline Village and Seaport Village in San Diego, said he sees downtown Huntington Beach as a prime spot for redevelopment. “I think it’s the last sleeping coastal town in California,” he said.

The developer said beforethe meeting that “unless we get shot down, we’ll have a ground breaking on the 30th (of October).”

Mandic said he believes that it is vital to do something to begin development of a downtown that is “in decline” and underused. “We need to get something off the dime down there, and this is the first project we’ll have,” he said. “We have to change the image of downtown.”

Review Called Exhaustive

Mandic said planners have been unsuccessful in attempting downtown redevelopment projects for 15 to 20 years. He said hardly any of the area’s potential has been realized.

Deputy City Administrator Doug LaBelle said that despite claims by opponents that the project has been rushed through, it had had an exhaustive review. “We’ve had a number of public study session reviews of the concept, and it has been before both the Planning Commission and the council on several occasions,” he said. “The plan for that area has been known for some time.”

LaBelle said the project is expected to be a “catalyst” and spark other development downtown. He added that plans to widen Beach Boulevard and extend Walnut Street all the way to Beach would improve access to the area.

In response to Huntington Beach Tomorrow concerns about traffic, parking and other issues, the council agreed to have the final say on all subsequent actions, said senior redevelopment planner Mike Adams. He said those actions would include a list of proposed uses, a traffic impact plan and a parking management analysis.