HUNTINGTON BEACH : Beach Parking OKdin Spite of Protests

The City Council on Monday approved a plan for a 246-space parking lot at the base of bluffs on the coastal side of Pacific Coast Highway, despite pleas from angry residents.

The council approved a coastal development permit for the parking lot as well as improvements at Blufftop Park, including new and separate bicycle and pedestrian trails, removal of a retaining wall covered by graffiti artists, construction and terracing of new walls, landscaping, showers and portable restrooms and concession stands.

Mayor Linda Moulton-Patterson, who is a member of the California Coastal Commission, said that providing public access to the beach for all people was an overriding reason for her vote calling for the parking lot and improvements.

“It’s not right to have just a locals-only beach,” Moulton-Patterson said. “The beaches belong to everyone.”

Critics said the beach, between Golden West and 11th streets, is the only stretch of sand in the city that does not have a parking lot and should be kept that way.

“This is the narrowest, prettiest part of the beach,” said resident Dana Wetzel, who warned that the area could be beset by gas and oil fumes, litter and vandalism. “The parking lot will destroy this jewel.”

Wetzel and others vowed after the vote to appeal to the Coastal Commission in an attempt to overturn the council’s decision. Officials said the project need not be put to a citywide vote because it falls below minimum requirements as to size and value of development.

The lot will provide angled parking along an abandoned oil access road below the bluff. The old road is wide enough to accommodate the parking lot without encroaching onto the beach area, according to officials.

Two underpasses are planned for the safety of bicyclists at the entrance and exit to the parking lot at Golden West and 11th streets.

Community Services Director Ron Hagan said the parking lot is expected to produce about $280,000 in revenue each year and will help pay for park improvements and maintenance.

However, Planning Commissioner Roy Richardson told council members that the lot wouldn’t provide income from new sources but would only drain it from existing beach parking lots.

The project is expected to cost $2.3 million. The money would come from a combination of county, state and federal grants, beach parking revenue and $1 million in unused bonds the city sold previously for an ill-fated parking structure.

Councilman David Sullivan, who voted for the project, said there is “a strong possibility” that the money earmarked for the parking lot and improvements may be more urgently needed for other projects.

“We’ll be looking at the financial aspects,” Sullivan said. “If they don’t work out, the project will be shelved.”

Only Councilman Jim Silva voted against the project, claiming there is no shortage of beachfront parking.

The Planning Commission last month voted against the project, rejecting a coastal development permit on grounds that no additional parking is needed.

Don Slaven, speaking on behalf of the Surfrider Foundation environmental organization, said the parking lot plan would have “a severe negative impact” on the beach.

“The introduction of 246 new parking spaces in our opinion is completely unnecessary and further depletes precious beach area,” he said.