Council rejects use of eminent domain at mall

Tariq Malik

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- The city will not use eminent domain to remove two

businesses from Huntington Center to make way for a new upscale shopping

destination, though the decision was far from unanimous.

With a 3-3 vote Monday, the City Council was deadlocked over the idea

of using the city’s power to oust Burlington Coat Factory and Wards from

the 30-year-old Huntington Center at Beach Boulevard and Edinger Avenue.

Council members Ralph Bauer, Shirley Dettloff and Tom Harman approved

of the use of eminent domain, while Councilwoman Pam Julien and

Councilmen Peter Green and Dave Sullivan dissented. Mayor Dave Garofalo

was absent.

Under civil codes, the issue required a two-thirds majority vote -- or

five ayes -- for approval. The tie vote was cast about 2 a.m. Tuesday.

Developer Ezralow Retail Property LLC of Irvine wants to redevelop

Huntington Center into The Crossings at Huntington, an Italian

village-style shopping mall filled with high-end restaurants, shops and a

multiscreen movie theater. The plan passed council muster last month.

The cost to redevelop the 58-acre center, which city officials said

has been in decline since 1982, is estimated at $150 million and would

ultimately generate about $1 million annually in revenue for the city

from sales taxes and property taxes.

While the plan incorporates the existing Mervyn’s store, it did not

include Burlington and Wards. Wards owns its mall property, and

Burlington officials have 25 years left on their 30-year lease. Both

businesses contested their absence in the plan.

“We’re not against redeveloping the mall,” Burlington employee Ronnie

Paco told the council. “We just want to be a part of it.”

Burlington officials said their lease included the chance to redevelop

their section of the mall, and they have offered, along with Wards, to

renovate their structure to match Ezralow’s project.

Meanwhile, city officials have been working to find suitable

relocation sites for the two stores, as well as possible job counseling

for displaced workers.

“There has to be some cooperation here to make this project work,”

Julien said, adding that finding common ground in the relocation process

was key. During her recent reelection campaign, Julien maintained she was

against using eminent domain solely for redevelopment purposes.

Ezralow president Doug Gray said his project was caught up in “eminent

doman paranoia,” and the company is still deciding how to proceed in wake

of the council decision.

David Biggs, the city’s economic development director, said the

developer’s vision for The Crossings probably relied on the use of

eminent domain.

“There are a number of things they could do, . . . sell the property,

reach an agreement to keep Burlington and Wards, or find other suitable

locations,” he said. “The only things we know is there will be no eminent

domain on the site, and it probably means a different kind of project for

Ezralow.”