Manhattan Beach Improvements OKd in Concept

The City Council this week unanimously approved the concept for a $5-million downtown revitalization plan known as Streetscape, after a two-hour public meeting attended by about 100 people, according to Mayor Jan Dennis.

The plan calls for landscaping and improvements along streets and sidewalks. The city will not do any work on buildings.

Downtown business owners generally expressed support for the plan at public meetings during the past month, but were concerned about the impact of construction on sales and customers.

A detailed schedule will be provided after the final plan is approved, project organizers have said, but business owners have complained that they are planning now for the spring and summer months and need to know when their businesses will be affected.

The work on Manhattan and Highland avenues and Manhattan Beach Boulevard should begin in early February and be completed by July, 1987.

No completion date has been set for the remaining portion of the project, loosely bordered by Morningside Drive, The Strand and 8th and 15th streets, which includes some residential areas.