HUNTINGTON BEACH : Council to Tackle Timing of Measure C

City law is clear: People in Huntington Beach must be given the right to vote on construction proposed on beach or park land.

That right came to the general public when voters overwhelmingly passed an initiative, called Measure C, in 1990.

What remains unclear, however, is at what stage a project must be placed on the ballot for voter approval. Is it when the project is first planned? Or is it when the project has passed all the other hurdles, such as approval by the City Council and state Coastal Commission?

A City Council subcommittee is expected to recommend to the council tonight that all park and beach projects be approved at all governmental levels before going on the ballot.

If the subcommittee report is approved, it becomes official city policy.

That proposed clarification of Measure C would make it considerably harder, and much more expensive, for any development to be built on park or beach land.

“Since most projects that fall under the Measure C criteria require extensive environmental studies, engineering analysis, soils testing and landscape or architectural drawings, the (proposal) process can become quite expensive,” Community Services Director Ron Hagan noted city in a memo.

Nonetheless, Hagan said, the council subcommittee and the city attorney’s office have agreed that the language of Measure C requires a citywide vote only when the beach or park project has gone through all the other steps.

“The findings of this (proposed) policy are that the public must know the exact site plan, including environmental concerns, the terms and conditions of any lease or financial package, and the specific design and architecture before it can make an informed decision,” Hagan said.

The policy, if adopted, would affect a proposed Youth Sports Complex in Central Park and a new Surfing Museum proposed to be built at the base of the city’s pier.