Pierside Village Plan Faces 2 Showdowns : Land-use: The Coastal Commission and Huntington Beach’s City Council will be taking decisive votes this week on the proposed cluster of restaurants.

A proposal to build a cluster of restaurants near the pier here reaches two critical hurdles this week.

The State Lands Commission, which opposes the project, has said the issue has statewide ramifications. “We want to make sure that the public has access to (its) beaches and that development does not supplant recreational use,” said Curtis Fossum, senior staff counsel for the commission.

The project in question, called Pierside Village, will be considered tonight by a sharply divided City Council. The council is scheduled to decide whether to lease city-owned land to a private development company that proposes to build the restaurants and a surrounding plaza.

The second hurdle will come Wednesday, when the California Coastal Commission is scheduled to vote in Huntington Beach on whether Pierside is still suitable for the city’s overall coastal development plan.

A rejection by either the City Council or Coastal Commission could torpedo the project.

Environmental groups hope for just that outcome. “I think they should put it to rest, once and for all, and say that the public beach belongs to the public,” said Mark Porter, a member of Huntington Beach Tomorrow.

But Pierside supporters, including the Huntington Beach-Fountain Valley Assn. of Realtors, expect both the council and coastal panel to approve the project.

James Righeimer, president of the realtors group, said: “We believe this project is totally consistent with one of the key goals of downtown redevelopment, which is providing adequate public improvements, facilities, open spaces and utilities for our community.

“We believe that any further delay is not only unjustified but also unconscionable and a violation of the public trust,” he added. “It is time to stop the endurance contest and move forward.”

The proposed developer, Jonathan Chodos, said the “project has been approved at every step along the way. It’s never been turned down so far, and I fully expect the Coastal Commission will again approve it,” as in 1986.

The project, now officially called the “Pierside Restaurants Development,” dates to 1986, when the city proposed building a village-like cluster of shops and restaurants around paved-over areas near the pier. The redevelopment was scaled down over the years after running into strong, vocal opposition.

Foes say the restaurants would restrict public access to the beach and ruin the ocean view at Pacific Coast Highway and Main Street.

Supporters say the project would beautify an ugly paved area and would allow more people--especially older residents--better access to the ocean. The plans call for building a public plaza near the pier, which is being rebuilt.

But Porter of Huntington Beach Tomorrow said: “There are cheaper ways to beautify the area than what this project proposes. This project is not only an unwarranted restriction of public access, but it also is not a good investment” of city redevelopment money.

Mayor Peter M. Green, long a Pierside critic, also questioned its cost. “Monetarily, I just do not see any benefit to the city,” he said.

A close vote of the seven-member City Council is expected Monday night on the Pierside lease, but even if the council approves the project, nothing can be built on the land unless there also is a citywide vote approving Pierside.

In November, partly in response to the Pierside controversy, city voters passed the Measure C beach-protection initiative, which requires an election whenever any buildings costing more than $100,000 are proposed for a beach or for parkland.

Pierside supporters, however, have hinted that they would challenge Measure C in court if voters reject the project.

A quicker death to the Pierside proposal could come at Wednesday’s meeting of the coastal panel, which has zoning powers over coastal land. If the panel disapproves Pierside, the project would appear to be dead.