HUNTINGTON BEACH : Workers Prepare to Move Pier Buildings

Workers on Friday began dismantling the foundations of three buildings on the city pier, preparing the structures to be moved next week to a city storage yard.

The snack stands and bait shop, built in the 1930s, will be stored while the pier is demolished and rebuilt. Demolition gets under way next month.

Officials, however, say it is unlikely that the former Bait and Tackle Shop, Captain’s Locker and Neptune’s Locker will be used on the new pier. The city’s Pier Design Committee, a City Council advisory board, says the buildings are too timeworn to be used on the new structure.

But if the city demolishes the three shops, it may risk losing a $1.3-million federal grant for rebuilding the 76-year-old landmark, city officials say.

Under an agreement among the city, state and federal agencies upon which the grant hinges, the city must make every effort to incorporate the look of the historic pier into the design of the new one. So if the city destroys pier buildings that are deemed historically significant, it may be in violation of that pact, Deputy City Administrator Richard Barnard said Friday.

After the buildings are moved to the city yard, inspectors will be hired to determine what historic value, if any, the buildings possess. The city’s Historic Resources Board, which originally opposed the demolition of the pier, is now pushing to preserve the snack stands and bait shop.

But rather than delay the 18-month pier reconstruction project any further, the City Council agreed last month to pay a Garden Grove firm $26,500 to move the buildings until the issue over their historic value is resolved.

Construction on the new pier is expected to get under way in November. City officials are targeting March, 1992, as its opening date.