‘A size and a half too large’

The Huntington Beach City Council voted Monday night to move forward with plans to build a senior center in Central Park, denying a Planning Commission appeal by Councilwoman Jill Hardy claiming that the center’s footprint was greater than that approved by voters.

City staff and the Planning Commission recommended the final project design and landscape plans be approved as-is, stating that they conformed with conceptual plans that were approved in February 2008.

All present council members except Hardy approved the final plans. Councilman Devin Dwyer was absent.

“We’ve had enough boulders thrown in our way here,” Councilman Joe Carchio said, adding that opponents had done everything they could to delay the project.

Area seniors who filled the Council Chambers wearing red and white T-shirts applauded the decision.

Ballot Measure T, passed by voters in November 2006, called for a maximum of 5 acres to be used for the center.

Final plans call for a 37,563-square-foot building, an outdoor garden and lawn area, and a parking lot, which all fit in a 5-acre area. An associated driveway and other offsite components did not need to be included in the total square footage, city staff said.

Several locals disagree, including the Parks Legal Defense Fund, which said in a letter to the city that the Environmental Impact Report prepared for the senior center changed the wording to “approximately 5 acres.”

“The attempt to exclude a significant part of the project from the measurement is a breach of faith with the voters and is illegal,” attorney Emily Zung Manniger wrote.

In another letter, resident Mark Bixby said he determined using Google Earth that the project’s footprint, including the driveway, was about 6.5 acres.

At the meeting, Bixby told the City Council that the emperor’s new clothes were “really a size and a half too large,” saying it was time to “end the charade.”

Staff said in a presentation to the City Council that the project boundary as approved by the Planning Commission does not exceed 5 acres because other off-site improvements like the driveway were not included in the Planning Commission’s action.

The city said the access driveway was identified as a planned use in the Central Park Master Plan, and therefore didn’t require any future approvals.

The project is being funded through park fees assessed to the Pacific City project, a planned mixed-use development between the city’s downtown coastal resorts.

In other meeting developments:

 The City Council authorized the creation of a new overnight parking permit program for the downtown area, and also increased fees for downtown restaurants and bars that violate their permits.

 Seniors and other local activists praised a plan to allocate more than $500,000 in federal stimulus funds toward homeless prevention programs like Project Self-Sufficiency, Interval House, Colette’s Children Homes and city Senior Services.

 Residents near the construction of the Newland Street Bridge complained that they have been unable to use the transportation corridor and beach access for nearly a year.

 The council approved a new retirement property tax for the 2009-10 fiscal year to pay for some public employee retirement benefits. The tax would cost about $30 for every $500,000 of assessed value.

 The top sponsors and competitors from this year’s U.S. Open of Surfing, including sponsor Bob Hurley and surfers Brett Simpson and Courtney Conlogue, were honored for their efforts.

 Residents who live near a petroleum field near Beach Boulevard and Adams Avenue complained of environmental issues following the field’s reactivation.

 The city received the Gold Leaf Award from the International Society of Arboriculture for its restoration of Gibbs Park.