HUNTINGTON BEACH : Council OKs SROs in Commercial Areas

Huntington Beach has become the first city in Orange County to pass a measure designed to encourage the construction of single-room occupancy hotels, so-called SROs, for low-income workers.

The housing, which has been used extensively in San Diego, features single rooms with small kitchens and bathrooms. Mike Adams, the city’s director of community development, said he expects the rooms to rent for about $300 to $400 a month.

Late Monday night, the City Council voted 7 to 0 to approve an ordinance that amends zoning and building codes to allow SROs to be built solely in commercial areas of the city.

The ordinance drew praise from many housing advocates, while the only unenthusiastic public testimony came from a spokesman for Huntington Beach Tomorrow, a citizens’ group that advocates “managed growth.”

“Huntington Beach Tomorrow is not opposed to this, but I urge the council to proceed with some caution,” said Dave Sullivan, president of the organization. “There could be some severe problems with this.”

Sullivan did not elaborate on what “severe problems” Huntington Beach Tomorrow believed might result from SROs.

Other speakers praised SROs, including Mike Lennon of the Orange County division of the Building Industry Assn. He said he had seen how single-room housing had helped low-income workers in San Diego County.

“Once people got into this housing, it really transformed them,” Lennon said. “This is an opportunity that the city of Huntington Beach has to really take a lead in Orange County.”

Adams said the city is the first in the county to adopt an ordinance specifically for SROs, and that Huntington Beach officials already have been contacted by “three or four builders who are interested in SRO construction.

Possible sites for the housing would be along Beach Boulevard or in commercial areas near Golden West College, Adams said. College officials have expressed interest in SROs as dormitory-like housing for men and women who are working part time while taking community college courses.

The city’s ordinance requires on-site, 24-hour professional management of SRO buildings. The minimum size for a single room dwelling is 170 square feet, and the maximum is 400 square feet. The ordinance restricts rooms smaller than 220 square feet to one resident only, and no more than two people can live in any of the larger rooms.