GAINS & LOSSES
GAINS
MALL FACE LIFT
After an Irvine developer finalizes its purchase of most of the
Huntington Center mall, serious negotiations will begin with the city
about how to subsidize a long-overdue renovation. City officials hope the
stagnant center at the corner of Edinger Avenue and Beach Boulevard will
find new life now that Ezralow Retail Properties LLC has taken charge. To
encourage Ezralow to build the best possible mall, the city will consider
giving some tax money to the developer, which may spend $50 million on
upgrades. Although the cash-strapped city won’t hand over any money up
front, it might repay part of the project’s costs with interest from
anticipated tax revenues, the city’s economic development director said.
CITY RECEIVES GRANTS
The city has received about $15 million in state and federal grants. The
money will be used to provide equipment and services ranging from
improving infrastructure to hiring 10 police officers. Among these
projects are repairs and upgrades to the Slater Flood Control Channel;
Waterfront Hilton Expansion cleanup; repairs to Downtown sewer lines; new
reflective lane markers on the streets and signals at five intersections.
BALLOT SIGNATURES
A group determined to suspend the city’s power to purchase Downtown
residential properties by force collected enough signatures to qualify
for a ballot initiative, organizers said. Huntington Beach Cares turned
over to the City Clerk about 18,000 names of registered voters, nearly
double the amount required for a referendum. But the group’s achievement
is marred by controversy, as proponents of Downtown redevelopment through
eminent domain accused petition gatherers of misleading residents into
believing that hundreds of homes are threatened. If the allegations are
true, a court may remove some names from the petition.
LOSSES
STRIP CLUB RISING
The future Flamingo Adult Theater is quickly taking shape, with the
foundation already poured and the building’s outer frame nearly complete
at 18121 Beach Blvd. The sex-oriented business may open its doors as
early as January. Concerned about attracting prostitution and drug use,
the city had fought since 1996 to keep the club out. But judicial
decisions protecting an adult entertainment’s constitutional freedom to
operate forced the city to settle out of court in June.
PRICE FOR PARTY
The price for a holiday party for city employees, initially estimated at
$10,000, has ballooned to more than $20,000. To try to quell the
controversy surrounding the party, the city has collected about $3,500
from anonymous donors to cover the mounting cost. The bill doubled
because the city didn’t realize the number of hours its employees would
have to spend fixing up a room in the vacant Broadway building at the
Huntington Beach Mall, where the party is scheduled to be held Dec. 9.
FOUNTAIN VALLEY
Steven “Scotty” Lang, a 16-year-old junior at Fountain Valley High
School, died after collapsing during football practice. Out of respect
for lineman Scotty, Fountain Valley High School’s varsity team considered
dropping out of Friday’s playoff game with top-ranked Long Beach Poly.
But after members of Scotty’s family met with the athletes, the team
decided to play. Fountain Valley played well but lost to Long Beach.
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