HUNTINGTON BEACH : Coastal Commission to Review Project

Pierside Village, the city’s controversial proposed development, is destined for a review by the powerful state Coastal Commission.

Coastal Commissioner Linda Moulton-Patterson, who is also a city councilwoman here, announced Monday that the commission voted in closed session last week to reverse itself and hold a public hearing on the project. No date has been set.

“I’m very pleased that the people of Huntington Beach will get a hearing on this before the Coastal Commission,” Moulton-Patterson said. “There are many serious coastal issues raised in this project.”

Pierside Village calls for building a cluster of restaurants on the ocean side of Pacific Coast Highway near the city’s pier.

Debate over Pierside Village has raged for five years. Some environmental groups say it would ruin the city’s ocean view and lessen public access to the beach. Supporters, however, claim the new restaurants would be an asset to downtown development.

The Coastal Commission, which must approve any building project in coastal areas, gave its blessing to Pierside Village in 1986. But since then, opponents have sought to get the agency to review its action and deny approval.

Last July, Pierside Village was on the Coastal Commission’s agenda for a possible review and public hearing. But with a parliamentary procedure led by Commissioner Roger Slates, the agency voted that “no substantial issue” was involved. That meant the matter could not be heard, and therefore no more public testimony was allowed.

Scores of Huntington Beach residents who had gone to the July meeting to testify were outraged. Some residents yelled and demonstrated, and the meeting room was chaotic for several minutes after the controversial vote not to hold a public hearing.

Debbie Cook, spokeswoman for the environmental group Save Our Parks, filed a suit in Orange County Superior Court in September against the Coastal Commission. The suit sought to force the commission to rehear Pierside Village.

Moulton-Patterson said Monday that the suit by Cook was instrumental in getting the commission to reverse itself.

Cook said Monday that she is pleased by the commission’s decision, but she will not withdraw the suit until it actually holds a hearing and takes another vote on Pierside Village.

Although popularly still referred to as “Pierside Village,” the proposed project has been officially renamed the “Pierside Restaurant Development.” Jonathan Chodos, the developer, could not be reached for comment Monday about the Coastal Commission’s action.