HUNTINGTON BEACH : 2 Beach Area Lots to Close at Midnight
In a move to combat vandalism at two new parking lots off Pacific Coast Highway, the City Council on Monday night unanimously approved a plan to close the lots from midnight to dawn.
The council, acting as the Huntington Beach Parking Authority, approved spending $7,400 to install gates, warning signs and other equipment at the two new parking lots in the bluffs area of the city off Pacific Coast Highway.
In a letter, Community Services Director Ron Hagan said that vandals have been active at the two parking lots since their completion this past spring.
“Meters have been installed in both of these lots,” Hagan noted. “The city has been experiencing an extensive amount of vandalism to the meters and the parking lots.”
He recommended that gates be installed at the two lots and that they be closed after midnight.
Councilwoman Grace Winchell said the midnight closing plan would be acceptable only if the city made sure that the two parking lots were always open by dawn. Otherwise, surfers who use the two lots would suffer unfairly, she said.
“Both of these lots are extremely important to surfers in our community,” Winchell said.
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