Surf City is better off today

V.J. Viers

If you feel like a tourist in your own hometown (Sounding Off,

“They’ve taken the Surf City Out of Huntington Beach,” Nov. 7), it’s

nobody’s fault but your own.

I’ve lived in a beach community all of my 30-plus years, and the

Surf City today is much nicer than it was when I was growing up. It

was better known as Derelict City, because that is how it is

remembered by many. Downtown, including the pier, was dirty. The

sidewalks were cracked and dangerous. The shops were seasonal, at

best.

The writer’s idea of holding on to the past sounds great. However,

the “old” Huntington Beach was not all that great. It may seem like

it was a nice place, but reality was much different. The charm of

Main Street was anything but charming. There were drunks and homeless

everywhere begging for money, buildings were falling apart, stores

were vacant, and it was becoming a very unfriendly place to be. The

mom and pop establishments may be missed, as they are in all cities,

however, those establishments were not kept up to code and, like it

or not, they were failing in the path of progress. Sacrifice is often

needed in order to make way for a clean and safe community.

As far as the writer’s comment about greed, beach property is

better than gold. If you were a landholder in today’s market, you

might have a different view on things.

As far as the surfer population goes in Huntington Beach, it still

exists and it’s growing with each and every generation. There isn’t a

day that goes by that many of my neighbors don’t drag their boards

down to the beach to get in their two to three hours of waves a day,

weather permitting. Huntington Beach is lined with both tourists and

locals who enjoy our beautiful Downtown daily. There are wonderful

“local” hangouts such as the Sugar Shack and Longboards, that are

wonderful long-standing establishments and are very modestly priced.

We are lucky to have Dukes, Fred’s and Ruby’s. As for the shirts and

shoes required, I for one am thankful. I’ve never enjoyed sitting

down for a meal a table away from a hairy-chested, overweight man who

really needs to be wearing a shirt.

The fact is, it’s more of a health and safety issuethat the health

department has made standard, not the eating establishments. Place

the blame accordingly and where needed.

The improvements that have been made to the Downtown area have

beautified the area and brought in huge revenues to the city. This

has been much more than a face lift. The city beautification gave us

all city pride, tightened our community efforts in making Huntington

Beach a better place -- a place we can all be proud of and a place to

call home.

Huntington Beach is not a small town, but there is a lot of civic

pride, giving it a small-town feeling. The city has much more to

offer than surf and sand. Its new, modern look shows how the city has

prospered and grown over the years. It can now accommodate the

national and international beach sporting events of all kinds. People

can enjoy luxury hotels and shopping areas without having to leave

the city. Yes, it’s hard to let go of the old ways. However, as much

as I enjoyed the typewriter, I gave it up for a computer. It’s called

progress.

* V.J. VIERS is a Huntington Beach resident. To contribute to

“Sounding Off” e-mail us at hbindy@latimes.com or fax us at (714)

965-7174.