HUNTINGTON BEACH : Higher Restaurants by Pier Suggested

Undaunted by arguments that the Pierside Village project would block ocean views, one planning commissioner has suggested that the proposed restaurants be built as much as 5 feet higher than planned.

During the Planning Commission’s last preliminary hearing on the project’s environmental impact report Tuesday, Commissioner Ken Bourguignon said he believes the height of the three buildings should be elevated 3 to 5 feet to avoid potential flooding problems.

Studies on the controversial project state that the floor of the project’s subterranean parking garages typically would be within two feet of the water table beneath the site. Consequently, during high tide or storms, the lower parking level might be prone to flooding.

Although raising the two-level parking garages would add height to the restaurants to be built above them, Bourguignon--who works in the building industry--argued that the higher elevation would not further diminish ocean views.

“For the buildings across (Pacific Coast Highway), their views are already blocked” by the proposed project, he said. “Going up 3 to 5 feet wouldn’t block any more view. And it would make it much less expensive to maintain.”

Louise Fiorillo, who said her family owns more than one-third of the property in a block across from the project, attacked the commissioner’s suggestion. The project, particularly with added height, she said, would be “an insult to our coastline.”

Increasing the project’s height would require an amendment of the state Coastal Commission’s 35-foot height limitation. According to current plans, the project would be built within inches of the height standard.

Bourguignon is one of the commission’s strongest backers of the proposal, which would include a series of restaurants in three buildings on beachfront bluffs next to the pier. The targeted land is now paved as street-level parking.

The city will continue gathering comments on the project’s environmental impact report, to be integrated into the final draft, until Sept. 10. Eight days later, the commission is scheduled to consider adopting the report, which would mark a key step toward approving the project.