HUNTINGTON BEACH : Street to Be Linked to PCH Despite Protest

Despite opposition from some residents, Seapoint Street will be linked to Pacific Coast Highway.

The City Council this week voted 4 to 2 to extend the street 400 feet between Palm Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway.

The council majority agreed the extension is needed to improve police and fire access to the area and to provide another route for resident evacuation.

Councilmen David Sullivan and Tom Harman dissented, saying the change would adversely affect residents’ quality of life.

Sullivan said he favored gating the road to limit access for public safety purposes only. Councilman Ralph Bauer was absent.

Public Works officials said the $1.5-million road extension, paid for with developer fees, is expected to be completed by mid-June.

More than 60 residents opposed to the extension attended the meeting.

Many residents of the upscale area said that extending the road will increase noise, traffic, pollution and crime, and decrease property values.

Susan Sizlo just bought an ocean-view home about 30 feet from Seapoint Street in the new Surfcrest tract.

Sizlo said she knew the road extension was planned, but had no idea that as many as 14,000 cars a day could travel past her new home.

“The main reason I’m against it is because of the (added vehicle) pollution . . , “ Sizlo said. “It’s going to be much louder. I’ll never be able to open my windows.”

Buck Marrs of the Seacliff Coalition, a group of about 300 homeowners opposed to the street extension, charged that the city allowed Seacliff on the Greens townhomes to be built without proper soundproofing. Marrs said the coalition is considering litigation against the city.

Not everyone, however, was opposed to the construction.

Jeff Metzel, president of Huntington Seacliff Homeowners Assn., said the street extension is a plus for his neighborhood: “We favor it because the ones who live near Golden West Street have been very unhappy about the increase of traffic. Traffic is bothersome now.”