Huntington Beach sticks with stance against concerts on city-owned sand

Full-scale concerts on city-owned sand in Huntington Beach won’t be revived anytime soon.

During a study session Monday, the City Council reaffirmed its position against concerts on the city beach, citing public safety concerns from city staff and Police Chief Robert Handy.

The city’s stance quashes a proposal by Activated Events founder Steve Thacher for a Country Harvest Festival on Oct. 7.

Bolsa Chica and Huntington state beaches routinely host concerts, but the last one on city-owned sand occurred following the U.S. Open of Surfing in 2013, when a rowdy crowd vandalized downtown businesses and several police officers were injured.

Talk of reviving concerts on the city beach began July 3, when the council considered Thacher’s proposal for a country music festival. Instead of making a decision on Thacher’s request, the city requested a study session to further explore shifting its policy.

On Monday, Handy said his department is strained during such events and often contracts with other agencies to help.

For example, Handy said, Santa Ana police assisted during this year’s nine-day Vans U.S. Open of Surfing, where police reported making 80 arrests.

“We’re a very thinly staffed organization,” he said. “We had multiple officers ... work 12 to 14 days, 12-hour shifts. It’s taxing on them, families and residual effect on our service.”

Live entertainment is allowed at some events at the city beach, such as Surfing Sundays at Pier Plaza and Beachside Summer Fest, but city staff says music is only part of the events and isn’t a ticketed concert.

Councilwoman Barbara Delgleize asked Handy how police would handle people who show up to an event without a ticket but crowd near the gated area.

“We can’t manage that,” Handy said. “You can fence off a venue, but you get people who come on the outside. That crowd is where we’ve had problems.”

Handy said problems arise at the end of an event when people spill over onto Main Street. He referred to two aerial images showing crowds dispersing from the U.S. Open in 2012.

Though a concert on the city beach could help local businesses generate additional revenue, city staff asked council members to consider residents’ noise complaints from previous shows at Bolsa Chica and Huntington state beaches.

Councilwoman Jill Hardy said it took only four years of allowing concerts on the beach for problems to arise.

“As great as that revenue is, it all disappears after an incident,” she said. “It takes years and money to make up for that.”

Councilman Patrick Brenden said the city also has to be careful not to “oversaturate” the downtown area with events that affect community members.

“We want to keep our city accessible to our locals too,” Brenden said. “Offseason is a really enjoyable time where we don’t have to fight for parking space. … I think that’s worth protecting.”

Mayor Mike Posey, who during initial talks suggested a policy allowing ticketed concerts outside the 100-day period between Memorial Day and Labor Day, was absent from Monday’s meeting.

Priscella.Vega@latimes.com

Twitter: @vegapriscella