Pierside Village Project OKd

A $2.7-million beachfront commercial development beside the Huntington Beach Pier was approved Wednesday by the California Coastal Commission, which turned aside requests to reduce the project’s building height limit.

The project, Pierside Village, includes 60 retail shops, three major restaurants and a three-level parking structure extending along the beach from the pier six blocks to Lake Street. The city’s Redevelopment Agency is a partner in the development.

The commission left standing the city’s building height limit of 25 feet above the top of the pier. Some residents and the commission’s staff had asked that buildings be no higher than beach-front bluffs to the north.

City officials said the project is the first step in renovating the city’s aging downtown, and Mayor Jack Kelly praised the commission’s approval as a “milestone.”