Downtown Huntington Beach business group looks to ‘aggressively court’ dissatisfied members

The Huntington Beach Downtown Business Improvement District has a year to find ways to appease some of its members that want to drop out of the public-private partnership because they say they haven’t seen enough benefit of being part of the group.

Tenants of the Pacific City commercial center, the Pasea Hotel & Spa and the Hilton and Hyatt waterfront hotels — all of which are on Pacific Coast Highway — said in recent letters to the City Council that they wanted the BID’s boundaries modified so they could opt out.

The council denied their request on a 4-1 vote Monday because council members wanted to give the BID’s new leadership a chance to reach middle ground with the dissatisfied businesses. Councilman Patrick Brenden dissented, saying changing the map would “purify” the BID’s vision and make it easier to focus on Main Street.

BID President Matt Peterson said in an interview that he plans to “aggressively court” the reluctant members.

Pacific City, which has been a member for three years, is paying $36,300 in membership dues this year, according to Stenn Parton, the center’s chief retail officer.

“The BID is great for Main Street, Fifth Street and Pier Plaza,” Parton said in an interview. “In terms of it benefiting Pacific City, we see no benefit from required fees of our merchants, restaurants and retailers.”

BID dues help provide private security services, extra cleaning and daily porter services, tree trimming, holiday decor, social media marketing and events for the downtown area. In July, the BID hired extra security on Main Street to act as “extra eyes” for the Huntington Beach Police Department for a four-month pilot public safety program.

But Parton said Pacific City funds its own landscaping, cleaning services, full-time valet and full-time security and provides Huntington Beach police with a substation. It also hosts demonstrations and live entertainment.

He said events such as Surf City Nights, a street fair presented by the BID on Tuesdays along Main Street, draw people away from the Pacific City area, reducing foot traffic and sales.

The Pasea Hotel’s letter to the council stated it wanted out of the BID “based on our lack of involvement in the downtown district.”

The Hilton and Hyatt hotels did not include reasons for wanting to leave the group.

None of the hotels responded to requests for comment this week.

If the dissatisfied members were removed from the downtown group, it would lose $33,220 in annual business revenue, according to a city staff report.

Both areas are important to each other and “have a lot to offer,” Peterson said. Visitors stay at the hotels and explore the pier area and Main Street, and locals enjoy shopping at Pacific City, he said.

Peterson said he envisions establishing a direct lighted path connecting the two areas instead of having people “wandering up” Pacific Coast Highway.

“All I can do is continue with a positive message,” he said.

Parton said he will collect feedback from his tenants at the next monthly merchant meeting.

“Pacific City is proud to be part of [Huntington Beach’s] story line,” Parton said. “The future is bright and we hope the community, City Council and BID can find a resolution that works for everybody.”

[email protected]

Twitter: @vegapriscella