Wesley Park residents divided on city plans

Homeowners in the historic Wesley Park district of downtown Huntington Beach are divided over city plans to create development standards for their neighborhood designed to limit the size of houses.

Patrick Farrell, who is spearheading those who wants to be left out of the proposed Main/Crest Neighborhood Conservation Plan, owns a Tudor style home on Crest Avenue built in 1935 and has no plans to pull it down for a modern-day mansion.

But that doesn’t mean he wants to be part of the plan to maintain the traditional character of Main Street.

“It’s adding another layer to the bureaucracy that already exists,” said Farrell, who found that doing simple things to his home such as putting up a fence was difficult enough without added development standards.

It’s a difficult situation where 1920s-era beach cottages sit cheek by jowl with three-storied mansions, Farrell agrees. Homes on his block, he said, vary among Mexican, Spanish, Mediterranean and New England styles of architecture.

“At least on Main Street, there’s some continuity but there’s none on our block at all,” Farrell said.

The city’s plan proposes development standards in approximately the 600 to the 1100 block of Main Street, bounded by Palm Avenue to the west and Eleventh Street to the north. The draft is aimed at maintaining the traditional character of the Main Street area along with construction guidelines to prevent the “mansionization” of Huntington Beach.

“People want to live in Huntington Beach, down Main Street, for the character of that neighborhood,” resident Nancy Alfano said.

The character of the area also draws visitors who walk in the neighborhood, say residents who are quick to disparage larger, three-story homes.

The draft prohibits third-story construction and limits height of homes to not more than 28 feet.

But the sticking point in the plan, for many residents, is that construction can happen on only 40% of a lot.

“The more restrictions you have, the less your property is worth,” said Mike Faziol, who rents out units on his property and says he may not be able to turn a profit if the development restrictions limit construction to less than half the lot.

Surrounded by homes not in compliance with the proposed standards, Faziol questioned why he would have to follow guidelines if he planned to build a new home on his property.

The answer, said resident Richard Gomes, is quality of life.

“People who live here and want to retain the original architecture are worried about the quality of life, not property values,” Gomes said.

The city is trying to build a consensus on the plan, said associate planner for the city Paul Da Veiga.

Residents have two ways of coming up with a neighborhood conservation plan: They can get 51% of property owners to agree on a specific guideline or have the City Council direct staff to come up with a plan. In either case, the City Council would make the final decision on the plan.

For now, the planning department will go back to city staff and discuss residents’ feedback before coming up with their recommendations. hbi.04-wesleypark-CPhotoInfoG41QJ3QO20060504iyp7i4ncMARK DUSTIN / INDEPENDENT(LA)Patrick Farrell, who is against increased regulation for residents, stands in front of his historic Tudor style home Wednesday morning. The city is working with residents to come up with a Main/Crest Neighborhood conservation plan to maintain the neighborhood character and control development.