HUNTINGTON BEACH : Streets, Not Businesses, to Close Early July 4

Downtown streets will be closed to cars beginning late afternoon on the Fourth of July, but businesses will not be required to close their doors early, police said.

Lt. Dan Johnson said Wednesday that pedestrians will be allowed downtown. However, he said many merchants will voluntarily close at dusk in an effort to discourage rowdiness, which has marred past holiday celebrations.

Johnson said streets that will be barricaded include the area along Pacific Coast Highway between 2nd and 7th streets and north to Orange Avenue. The closures will occur sometime after 3 p.m., and sheriff’s deputies will staff the barricades.

The Police Department had asked the city attorney’s office for a legal opinion on whether police could force businesses to close and prohibit pedestrians downtown, Johnson said. The city attorneys said police may only keep motorists out of the area to keep the peace. However, Johnson said, if there are disturbances, police will close the area to pedestrians.

Stephen Daniel, president of the Downtown Business Assn., said that many business owners have agreed to close at 7 p.m.

“I’m still enthusiastic that most of the people will agree and want to do this voluntarily,” Daniel said. “We just want to keep the town safe and see if police can keep the town controlled.”

Some business owners, however, oppose closing early.

Lenny Mazzotti, co-owner of Mazzotti’s Italian restaurant, said he will stay open and that he plans to hire eight off-duty police officers to provide security.

“We’re going to secure our building and we’re going to stay open until we have no patrons,” Mazzotti said. “But if there’s a problem, we would close.”