City may scrap coastal projects

Eron Ben-Yehuda

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- Sounding like a government under siege, the City

Council at its Friday study session effectively killed plans to build an

RV campground below Bluff Top Park and to add more lanes to Pacific Coast

Highway.

The surprising turnaround came while the council set its priority list of

80 projects for the coming year.

By a 4-3 vote, the council decided to push these controversial proposals

to the bottom of the list.

Councilmen Ralph Bauer, Tom Harman and Dave Sullivan objected because

they wanted to scrap the projects completely.

A Planning Commission hearing scheduled for Tuesday on the issues has

been canceled.

With residents already “up in arms” about more worthwhile projects such

as the redevelopment of Downtown, the council shouldn’t waste its energy

on lost causes, Harman said.

City staff promoted building 70 rental spaces for RVs along the beach

between Goldenwest and 11th streets. The revenue would help pay for

halting bluff erosion and for adding new pedestrian and bike trails.

But residents living across Pacific Coast Highway complained that the

bulky campers would spoil their ocean view and drive down the value of

their homes.

The plan for Pacific Coast Highway would have added a car lane and a bike

lane in each direction between Beach Boulevard and Goldenwest Street.

The busy thoroughfare would not need to be widened. Instead, the city

would narrow the median island by several feet and the existing car lanes

by a few inches. About 460 parking spaces on either side of the road

would have been removed as well.

The added lanes were meant to ease traffic congestion, but nearby

residents worried that already speeding cars would drive faster, causing

more accidents.

Ron Hagan, community services director, who blamed much of the public

opposition to a “not in my backyard” attitude, helped convince the

council not to give up on the proposals.

“I think you should keep your options open for the future,” he said.

City Councilwoman Pam Julien agreed, saying the heated criticisms would

die down if the public better understood the project’s benefits.

“I’ve never seen such an emotional reaction without any real information

going out,” she said.

But Bauer said residents had already made up their minds.

“Wake up, we’re dead,” he said.

Question: PLANS SQUASHED?

Do you think the city was right in killing these projects?

Leave us your thoughts on our Readers Hotline at 965-7175, fax us at

965-7174 or e-mail us at [email protected]. Please include your name and

city.