SEAL BEACH : Pizzera Finds New Home on Main Street
Amid the loud cheers of restaurant supporters, the City Council has approved a plan to transform a boarded-up building on Main Street into a stylish pizzeria complete with outdoor seating.
The 4-0 vote Tuesday marks the third time this year that the council has reversed a decision of the Planning Commission, which two months ago rejected Bichsel Co.’s request to open a branch of B.J.’s Chicago Pizzeria in one of the oldest buildings on Main Street.
The decision also ends the yearlong debate about traffic, parking and aesthetic issues on Main Street.
Some residents have loudly criticized the Bichsel Co.’s plan, saying it does not provide enough parking for customers. But at the council meeting, more than 20 people spoke in favor of bringing the pizza restaurant to Seal Beach, while two spoke against it.
Many residents and merchants described B.J.’s Chicago Pizzeria as a community-minded establishment that would bring tax revenue and jobs to Seal Beach and turn a deteriorated building into a family-oriented restaurant.
“Any time you have something that will enhance the community and replace a boarded-up building with something vibrant, I hope you would consider it,” resident Bruce Walter told the council.
“When a business comes to town offering to make improvements, I don’t see how we can turn them down and tell them to go someplace else,” said John Baker, a Main Street merchant. “If we turn this business away from the city, we are all fools.”
In the end, the council agreed. Several council members said the meeting was refreshing because it lacked the attacks and bitter tone that have marked previous public hearings on Main Street issues.
The council’s action approving the pizzeria overturned the earlier Planning Commission rejection of the plan, which was based largely on concerns about parking.
Under city laws, the restaurant is required to provide 26 parking places, but the building has only three. The company proposed making up for the shortage by paying the city $100 a year for each of the 23 missing spaces.
Some fear that the lack of spaces will force customers to park in the residential neighborhoods around Main Street.
But some residents said Tuesday that the recent opening of city lots around Main Street to the public might help lessen the parking shortage.
