Huntington Beach City Council votes to expand outdoor dining

By Matt SzaboStaff Writer

May 19, 2020 12:30 PM PT

The Huntington Beach City Council unanimously voted Monday night to direct staff to explore a plan that would expand outdoor dining in the city during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

An agenda item on labeling all businesses as essential and reopening them, however, was tabled before coming to a vote. That concluded the nearly five-hour meeting, which ended a few minutes after midnight.

Councilmen Mike Posey and Patrick Brenden introduced the item on expanding local restaurants and allowing for outdoor table service.

“My vision is that on private property, restaurants that are limited to a certain percentage of indoor capacity may not necessarily need the number of parking spaces they have outdoors,” Posey said. “Those parking spaces can be utilized for outdoor restaurant service, and that combination would be fluid. As the number of patrons can increase on the inside, the parking spaces on the outside would decrease.

“We already allow restaurants to deliver to-go meals to customers picking up, and we also allow them to deliver cocktails to go. It would seem that the natural extension of that service would be to allow those patrons to take those meals and beverages to a table that’s right outside the restaurant.”

Posey read a letter in support of the voluntary program by Lindsay Parton of DJM Capital, whose company developed the Pacific City and Bella Terra shopping centers in Huntington Beach.

“Huntington Beach has 609 restaurants that employ about 8,800 people,” Posey said. “As of right now ... mostly all of them are not [working]. If we can get some of them back to working, and we can begin socialization with our neighbors, we can start getting back to some sort of normal life.”

Brenden recommended that the City Council issue temporary use permits to the restaurants and waive fees involved with such permits.

The most discussed item on the agenda was introduced by Councilman Erik Peterson, and it called for reopening all businesses in the city. The item generated nearly three hours of public comment, most of that via phone calls, though more than 30 people showed up at council chambers in support of reopening businesses.

“I am deemed nonessential and I have a wonderful landlord who’s charging me half rent,” said Susie Smith, owner of Makin’ Waves hair salon on Main Street. “But half rent is still half rent. We cannot continue to not be open and not work ... We’re going to die down there.”

Not everyone was in favor of a full reopening.

“Businesses do not have a constitutional right to happiness when it puts other lives at stake,” said one caller. “Gov. [Gavin] Newsom has authority period, whether you like it or not, and these continued lawsuits are not the way to serve the public.”

Peterson said the businesses that were deemed essential and nonessential have been inconsistent and that he believed churches should be open for in-person service.

“We have not really been affected in Huntington Beach like some more dense populations,” he said. “I feel it’s time for the city to step back and let our economy safely open ... I’d like to deem all businesses and places of worship essential in the city of Huntington Beach, and allow them the opportunity to open the way they feel safe. If you’re going to open, listen to the county, listen to the guidelines, but we’re not going to infringe or get in the way.”

It became clear, however, that Peterson did not have the support on the council to pass the item. Posey suggested revisiting the item when California gets to Stage 4 of reopening, though a motion to do so also did not come to a vote.

“I think we have to address the concerns of all people,” Councilwoman Barbara Delgleize said. “To me, just opening up everything is not the responsible way to do it. I don’t want the governor coming to our city and saying, ‘You know what, you guys were not listening, you didn’t do it the way you were supposed to, so now you go to the back of the line and you can’t open anything.”

Councilwoman Kim Carr said it was the responsibility of Orange County and the state to guide the city’s reopening, not the City Council’s.

“I think people have the misconception that we somehow shut down Huntington Beach,” Carr said. “We did not. Conversely, we can’t open it up. That’s a county and a state function. We don’t have that power ... but how can we help our small businesses move to the next phases quickly, which is what we all want to happen?”

Huntington Beach City Manager Oliver Chi said two barriers remain in terms of accelerating Orange County’s Stage 2 reopening, according to state guidelines. The county has a lack of personal protective equipment for skilled nursing facilities and also needs temporary housing for at least 15% of its homeless residents in case of a coronavirus outbreak in that population.

Chi said the city also is working with state officials toward a full reopening of the beach, with a social-distancing requirement. Currently, it is open for “active” use only.

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Huntington Beach City Council votes to expand outdoor dining

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