Huntington Beach City Council approves Bolsa Chica senior project on split vote

Huntington Beach’s median age is approaching 44 years old. As the city’s residents get older, a new senior care facility was green-lighted Tuesday night by the City Council.

The panel voted 4-3 on Tuesday night to approve the Bolsa Chica Senior Care Community, a four-story complex that will be built at the corner of Bolsa Chica Street and Warner Avenue, despite concerns from dissenting council members who believed the building was too big for the space.

Council members Natalie Moser, Rhonda Bolton, Tony Strickland and Dan Kalmick voted to approve the project. Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark, Mayor Pro Tem Pat Burns and Councilman Casey McKeon voted against.

Strickland made the motion to approve the project, while asking for an addition to the conditional use permit that the property only be used as a senior care facility. Kalmick seconded.

“There’s been some talk in the community that says that three years down the line, they’ll change this and make it more independent living or an apartment,� Strickland said. “I want to make sure that we’re clear, that we do a deed restriction on this property.�

The vote concluded a long process, as real estate developer Hines and Clearwater Living pulled the project from consideration last December after listening to community feedback. It came back this year about 30% smaller and four stories tall instead of five.

Additionally, the developers erased more than 100 independent living units that were previously proposed, leaving the project with 159 total units — 25 memory care and 134 assisted living.

The existing commercial building at the space will be demolished.

“There is a need,� Moser said. “The demographics and statistics clearly show that Huntington Beach is facing a growing need for senior housing, senior living and memory care facilities at all affordability levels, due to increasing lifespan and just the demand for specialized services as well. I appreciate that the developer was responsive to the community.�

Strickland prefaced his comments by saying that he wasn’t going back on his campaign promise against high-rise, high-density development.

He referred to the facility as a hospital, though it often is referred to as a residence.

Huntington Beach Mayor Pro Tem Pat Burns, Mayor Gracey Van Der Mark and Councilman Tony Strickland pictured at the Aug. 6 City Council meeting.

(James Carbone)

“These are patients that are at this facility ... it acts like a duck, it’s a duck. It’s a hospital,� Strickland said.

“High density creates public safety and crime problems to the city,� he added. “This is not that ... This facility is needed in Huntington Beach. As a city, if you look at our senior population, we have over 60,000 seniors — 30% of our population — and the average age of that population is 80 years old.�

McKeon, a real estate developer by profession, said he believed creating a specific plan for the project itself was excessive. He said the project should be able to fit into the city’s general plan.

“I don’t want to set a precedent where the property’s too small, the said project is too big, so let’s just whip up a specific plan to make it fit,� he said. “If this use is going to be more prevalent with an aging demographic, we’ve got to get it right. The way to get to right is to make it fit in the current code and the general plan, or make the project smaller.�

Van Der Mark said it was too dense of a project for that area, noting that she campaigned against high-density development.

Burns said he wanted to support the project but spoke for more than 25 minutes about his concerns, including parking and traffic.

“How many special events are you going to have there?� he said. “There’s Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Easter and other religious holidays, Christmas, Thanksgiving. Usually those are kind of high-volume days. Where are they going to park? They’re going to have to park all over the place, including already impacted neighborhoods where they have their own guests.�

The Huntington Beach Planning Commission brought the project back to the City Council for final approval on Sept. 24, also on a a 4-3 vote.