Pacific City report passes muster

Jenny Marder

Hundreds of residents flooded the council chambers Tuesday night with

praise and concerns for a proposed development that would take over a

31-acre former Chevron oil field.

The Pacific City project took its first step toward approval

Tuesday night, when the Planning Commission unanimously approved its

environmental report.

Plans call for 517 condominiums, a resort hotel, a shopping

promenade, a two-acre park and underground parking. A short video

presented by developer Makar Properties showed a landscape lush with

grass, trees, modern architecture, interactive fountains and hotel

swimming pools overlooking the ocean.

“I do think this is one of the finishing touches of Huntington

Beach,” Planning Commission Chairman Ron Davis said. “It’s a pleasure

to be on a body that gets to look at this kind of issue and gets to

be involved in putting in this final piece of the puzzle for the

city.”

Most of the speakers at the meeting spoke in favor of the project,

saying it would pull much-needed property tax, sales tax and bed tax

into the city.

Pacific City will create jobs for all income levels and increase

the city’s draw as a destination for business meetings and

conferences, said Charlie Bunten, chairman of the Huntington Beach

Chamber of Commerce.

“With its varied architecture, wide sidewalks, fountains and open

space, this development is attractive and its people friendly,”

Huntington Beach resident Cathy Meschuck said.

The project is not without its critics. Concerns were raised about

how traffic would affect surrounding streets and neighborhoods. Some

felt that Huntington Street should be widened to better absorb

increased traffic flow.

Steve Marion, who lives on nearby Alabama Street, said that the

neighborhood is crowded enough as it is and asked that the project be

scaled back.

“I live down here, I see the parking and I have to park a

quarter-mile away from my home,” he said.

Runoff from the project and its impact on ocean water quality was

also a concern.

While city officials insist that the site will be thoroughly

cleaned before any of the construction starts, some residents,

especially members of the Pacific City Action Coalition, are still

worried.

John Sisker, a coalition member, is asking that his group have a

say in an independent consultant hired to oversee cleanup of the

land.

“At least we’re working together,” Sisker said. “We’re sitting at

a table with each other and understanding each other’s point of

views. Let’s just make sure it’s clean to build on and do it right.

Let’s make sure it fits in the surrounding neighborhood and not in

spite of it.”

Davis said he’s confident the city isn’t cutting corners when it

comes to cleanup of the property.

“The intention is to sand away the blemishes, not to throw out the

project because it’s got blemishes,” Davis said.

The Planning Commission will vote on the project’s conditional use

permit at its next meeting, which will be held at 7 p.m., April 13.