Parks, Beaches Initiative Makes an Impact : Measure C: Critics say it gives Huntington Beach residents a say in development, but at a heavy price.

An initiative to save city parks and beaches from development, passed by voters here last fall, is now making its impact.

Last week, the city attorney told the City Council that two major development proposals affecting the public beach--Pierside Village and Pier Plaza--must be submitted to voters for approval before the city could move ahead with construction.

Pierside Village calls for building three or more new restaurants on the beach side of Pacific Coast Highway near the new pier. Pier Plaza envisions building a parklike entrance to the new pier, which is scheduled to be completed by the spring of 1992.

Both multimillion-dollar developments cannot proceed unless they are approved by a majority of voters in a citywide election, as required by the new initiative known as Measure C. Supporters of the initiative said last week that city residents are now regaining control of their parks and beaches.

“Measure C certainly is giving the citizens of this city an opportunity now to decide how the coastal zone is to be developed or not developed,” said Mayor Peter M. Green, who supported the initiative.

But a critic of Measure C, Councilman Don MacAllister, said the initiative may soon force the city to hold a series of costly special elections. “Every time we turn around, we may have to have an election,” MacAllister said. “We may have to have this measure tested in court.”

In the past, construction decisions affecting beaches and parks could be made by a simple majority vote of the seven-member City Council.

Environmentalists have for years claimed that the council is dominated by pro-development members. According to these critics, the council majority has been all too willing to sell or develop parts of parks and beaches.

Save Our Parks, a citizens’ group formed in the fall of 1989, was behind the ballot petition designed to safeguard parks and public beaches. The initiative forbids new construction of any building costing more than $100,000 on park or beach land unless approved by the voters. Measure C also forbids the sale or lease of any park or beach land unless submitted to the voters for approval.

Pro-development forces tried to block passage of Measure C last fall, raising $59,865 for a campaign aimed at defeating the initiative and passing a weaker substitute. By contrast, Save Our Parks/Huntington Beach Tomorrow, the pro-Measure C campaign group, only raised $16,299.

Despite being financially outgunned and opposed by the City Council majority, Measure C passed last November by an overwhelming majority.

Debbie Cook, spokeswoman for Save Our Parks, said last week that Measure C is now doing just what it was designed to do.

“People in the city should be allowed to decide if they want these (proposed) projects on their beaches or in their parks,” she said. “I now feel we have a security blanket” with Measure C.

MacAllister noted the city has no regular election scheduled this fall. If Pierside Village is to be decided, he said the city must put it to the voters at a special election in November, estimated to cost $100,000.

Cook argued there is no need for a special election--that the issue can be delayed at least one year.

“I’m baffled that the city would try to rush this to the November ballot when it could save a lot of money by waiting six months” until regular elections in 1992, Cook said.

MacAllister said that delaying a vote goes against the spirit of Measure C. He said that delays also unfairly punish developers, who are saddled with growing costs while the outcome remains in doubt.