Surf City fights for the coastline

Surf City sewage gets a little extra treatment

1Surf City’s ongoing battle with county sanitation officials to

step up treatment of sewage being released off the city’s coastline

culminated in higher treatment standards being put in place in July.

The Orange County Sanitation District’s 25-member board, which

includes Councilwoman Debbie Cook, voted to increase the treatment

levels of the 234-million gallons of wastewater released into the

ocean each day.

Joined by other coastal cities and a group of tenacious activists,

Surf City’s leaders had lobbied hard for the stepped-up treatment.

For more than a decade, the sanitation district has been

discharging sewage under a controversial waiver to the federal Clean

Water Act of 1972.

The waiver, one of only a handful nationwide, allowed the district

to skirt more aggressive treatment methods employed in most other

states.

City leaders, an environmental scientist, the activists and others

maintained that the cause of repeated bacterial outbreaks along the

coastline was a wastewater plume from a sewage outfall pipe on the

ocean floor. The district’s waste is discharged 4.5 miles out to sea.

The Ocean Outfall Group, founded by a local dentist Jan

Vandersloot, vociferous activist Joey Racano and Doug Korthoff, led

the charge. The group, over the course of several months, gave

presentations to any City Council that would listen about the harmful

effects of a waiver renewal.

Its persistent chants of “Stop the Waiver” eventually reached many

of the sanitary district’s members.

In August, the sanitation district began chlorinating its sewage,

a process that, in effect, was similar to pouring a bottle of

household bleach into a toilet.

The industrial-strength bleaching began Aug. 12.

After voting to drop its pursuit of a renewal of the waiver, the

sanitary district began implementing the new treatment methodology.

It said it will need to spend $23 million between now and 2020 to

upgrade its treatment plant.

-- Paul Clinton

Garofalo pleads guilty to felony charge

2It seems so long ago, yet it was just in January that former

Councilman and Mayor Dave Garofalo pleaded guilty to one felony and

15 misdemeanor charges in an Orange County Superior Court.

He had resigned from the council at the end of 2001, and the

council approved an application process to fill his seat at its first

meeting, on Jan. 7.

Just three days later, Garofalo was convicted of criminal conflict

of interest charges after a two-year investigation of his business

and political practices.

Judge Ronald Kreber sentenced Garofalo to three years’

unsupervised probation and ordered him to pay a fine of $1,000 by

April 10.

He was also ordered to complete 200 hours of community service by

April 1, 2003, and pay a penalty of $47,000 to the Fair Political

Practices Committee for failing to accurately report sources of

income and gifts.

To the bitter end, the former mayor claimed ignorance of his

wrongdoing, saying he never would have done all those things had he

known they were illegal. He also placed the blame for his illegal

voting practices squarely on then-City Atty. Gail Hutton, saying he

had a letter from her stating that it was OK to vote.

Some were sad to see him go, others relieved. Either way, it was

the end to a long saga but for filling his seat.

Applications flooded City Hall. An astounding 36 hopefuls came

forward. After interviewing every candidate, the council appointed

former Councilwoman and Mayor Grace Winchell to fill the vacant seat

until the November election.

While the City Council was replacing the disgraced politician,

Assemblyman Tom Harman, a former councilman and mayor himself,

introduced legislation that would strengthen conflict of interest

laws.

Gov. Gray Davis in August signed Assembly Bill 1797, which

specifies that public officials who have a financial stake in a

decision that goes before them for a vote, must completely disclose

the exact nature of the conflict. After the conflict is disclosed,

officials must recuse themselves from either discussing or voting on

the matter. Public officials would also be required to leave the room

when the matter is being discussed or voted on.

Gone, but apparently not forgotten, Garofalo was attacked in May

by a man in a Mexican restaurant. The man allegedly called the former

politician an obscene name then punched him in the head.

Since then, he has kept a rather low profile.

-- Danette Goulet

Council tries to ground banner-towing planes

3Surf City was on the national radar screen this year when the

City Council passed a law prohibiting banner-towing planes from

flying over Huntington Beach.

In answer to years of complaints, Councilwoman Connie Boardman

introduced the law in July after learning that the 9th Circuit Court

of Appeals in San Francisco had upheld a similar law that had been

passed in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Councilman Ralph Bauer was, and continued to be, the sole

dissenting voice on council, saying it was “just not a burning issue

in Huntington Beach.”

His counterparts and numerous residents disagreed. And so, the law

gained initial approval by a 4-1 vote.

The decision gained immediate media attention, not to mention that

of angry advertisers, pilots and the Federal Aviation Administration.

Their ire did not stop the council from passing the law by a 5-2 vote

on Sept. 16.

While Bauer remained the voice of contention, saying afterward, “I

didn’t vote for it because I think it’s ridiculous,” his was not the

only voice raised in protest.

The FAA promised to look into the legality of the ban, but the

fireworks really began when the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, a

national group that opposes abortion, sued the city on Oct. 1 to

overturn its ban of aerial advertising, saying that the law violates

its 1st Amendment rights.

The group had used the banner-towing planes to advertise its

anti-abortion message, which depicts an aborted fetus. It is an image

the group has also plastered on trucks that drive around town,

specifically near schools.

The group’s graphic signs pulled behind planes and on the side of

trucks garnered the attention of the community, outraging many.

The city delayed enacting the law until the lawsuit was settled,

which happened shortly after the anti-abortion group presented an

amended FAA regulation stating in no uncertain terms that the skies

were the federal agency’s domain.

The city admitted defeat and repealed the law on Nov. 18.

The FAA went back to watching the skies, the Center for

Bio-Ethical Reform turned its guns on Honolulu, and trucks picturing

aborted fetuses stopped circling schools.

A Federal District Court this month tossed out the controversial

suit, ruling it moot.

-- Danette Goulet

New blood injected into the City Council

4Dec. 2 was a momentous day, as the City Council ushered in a new

era with four new members taking their places on the dais.

The group was only the third foursome that included no incumbents

to join the council since 1926. Similar changes-of-the-guard took

place in 1978 and 1986.

Surf City also lost more than 40 years in experience and knowledge

in departing members Ralph Bauer, Shirley Dettloff, Peter Green and

Grace Winchell.

Green’s 16 years, Bauer’s 10 years, Winchell’s nine years and

Dettloff’s eight years gave the prior council a deep-rooted knowledge

of what came before. Their departures created a leadership vacuum.

Some experience comes in the form of newly elected Councilman Dave

Sullivan, who held a seat from 1992 to 2000. Retired police officer

Gil Coerper, activist Cathy Green, Peter Green’s wife, and math

teacher Jill Hardy joined as freshmen members.

The retiring members aren’t walking out on the neophyte members.

They all said their doors would remain open for help, if it was

wanted.

The council’s three continuing members also bring various degrees

of experience. Councilwoman Pam Julien Houchen was elected in 1996.

Newly minted Mayor Connie Boardman was elected in 2000 with

Councilwoman Debbie Cook, who handed the mayor’s gavel to Boardman at

the December meeting.

Other than Sullivan, Cathy Green, who has been active in a number

of committees, could be the best prepared for the job. Over the past

two decades, city issues have been the centerpiece of many dinner

table discussions.

“That was always Peter’s domain,” Green said. “But I was always

interested.”

The new council will face some tough decisions, as the city faces

a budget crunch exacerbated by planned cuts in funding at the state

level.

-- Paul Clinton

A proposal that splits the city and the council

5In March, lobbyist and former Assemblyman Scott Baugh submitted a

proposal that would split Huntington Beach into five City Council

districts and reduce the number of its members from seven to five.

Under the Fair District Initiative, the city would be divided into

five areas, each with its own representative.

The controversial plan, which the City Council put on the back

burner until March 2004, quickly divided the residents of Huntington

Beach.

The initiative met with immediate criticism from city leaders and

residents who said it would pit council members against one another

as they fought for special projects in their area. They also

complained they would have less representation because they would

then only have one council person to bring concerns to.

Council members also said that reducing their number to five would

spread them too thin, with all the committees and commissions they

serve on.

But Baugh and supporters collected 22,000 signatures, exceeding

the required 16,000 needed to get the initiative on the November

ballot.

Baugh contends the plan would mean better representation for

residents in areas he said are ignored under the current system. His

plan would promote better competition for ideas, more accountability

and more access for residents, he said.

How the majority of residents feel will not be known until 2004.

In August, the council voted 6 to 1 to table the issue until then,

saying that residents had enough on their plate in November with

electing four new council members.

Major Debbie Cook cast the sole dissenting vote, arguing that

voters asked for the initiative on the November ballot by petition.

Within a week of the vote, resident Joseph Jeffrey sued the city

saying the delay was illegal. He held that voter signatures required

the council to put the initiative to a vote in the next election.

Superior Court Judge Dennis Sheldon Choate, however, ruled that

the council did not overstep its bounds when it put the vote off.

Jeffrey filed an appeal, but the decision stands.

-- Danette Goulet

Parkside Estates ignites strong opposition

6Fires of controversy were ignited around another large-scale

housing project as environmentalists mobilized against the Shea Homes

Parkside Estates project in much the same way they have fought

Hearthside Homes’ bid to build on the Bolsa Chica Mesa.

Shea would build its Parkside Estates project on Graham Avenue

south of Kenilworth Drive in southeast Huntington Beach.

The city’s Planning Commission fueled the outcry of a neighbor’s

group on Sept. 24 when it approved the 170-home project on a pair of

6-1 votes. Commissioner Jill Hardy, who won election to the City

Council in November, opposed the project.

A group billing itself as the Neighbors for Wintersburg Wetlands

Recovery objected to the project, saying the 50-acre parcel of land

set for the homes contains wetlands that should be protected from

development.

Shea Homes gained steam on Oct. 21 when the City Council approved

the project on a 4-3 vote. Council members Shirley Dettloff and Peter

Green, both longtime opponents of Hearthside’s Bolsa Chica project,

sided with Shea.

Councilwoman Debbie Cook appealed the planning board’s approval.

Another challenge came in December when the neighbors’ group filed

complaints with the California Coastal Commission, which must grant

final approval before work begins, and the Orange County district

attorney’s office.

The group charged that Shea had improperly destroyed pickle weed

plants in early December when it dug a drainage ditch on the

property.

The neighbors also accused the planning board of holding a series

of illegal meetings before the approval.

Commissioner Don Stanton dismissed those charges, saying the

meetings weren’t illegal because a majority of the board was not

present.

-- Paul Clinton

Shipley Nature Center closes its doors

7A natural Huntington Beach treasure faced extinction when the

City Council voted that closing the Shipley Nature Center was an

appropriate answer to the city’s budget constraints.

Despite heavy pressure from the Friends of Shipley Nature Center

and residents, the city cut the center’s $113,000 yearly funding.

The center’s doors were closed in early October, and its sole

full-time employee, park naturalist David Winkler, was reassigned to

the beach operations department.

The Friends of Shipley Nature Center, an organization of

volunteers that was started in 2002 to help the center, has continued

its fight and is now focusing on how to get the center re-opened for

educational purposes.

The 18-acre center, which first opened in 1974, houses different

habitats frequented by various types of birds and other native

wildlife.

Within the center, a half-mile self-guided nature trail passes

through its grasslands and a freshwater wetland. Visitors can learn

about nature and how it works.

The organization, along with the Orange County Conservation Corps,

has dedicated its time to restoring the center.

As part of the restoration process, which is underway and almost

entirely dependent on volunteers, the two organizations have been

able to open the center once a month for a few hours to allow the

public to view the progress and volunteer its time.

The Friends organization is also seeking funding through donations

and grants.

Along similar lines, the Oak View Community Center neared its own

end before the City Council.

It received a temporary reprieve when the city started negotiating

with the Children’s Bureau of Southern California for a transfer in

operation that would make it eligible for federal funding. A final

decision is scheduled for January.

-- Christine Carrillo

Bolsa debate includes victories, a possible sale

8Another year, another series of twists and turns in Orange

County’s longest running environmental battle over whether to build

homes on the Bolsa Chica Mesa.

Developer Hearthside Homes heard good news in March when a state

appellate panel ruled that their lawsuit against the California

Coastal Commission could move forward. Hearthside sued the commission

over a November 2000 recommendation to limit development to 65 homes

on the mesa’s upper tier.

The developer argued that the recommendation amounted to an

infringement on its property rights.

Hearthside scored another victory on May 8 when the Orange County

Planning Commission approved the so-called Brightwater Project,

Hearthside’s plan to build 388 homes on 107 acres of the upper mesa.

The upper and lower mesa make up about 200 acres.

Local environmentalists, led by the Bolsa Chica Land Trust,

appealed that decision to the Board of Supervisors.

The land trust, formed for the purpose of buying the mesa and

setting it aside as a nature preserve, has been fighting the 30-year

effort to build on the mesa.

Orange County Supervisors sided with Hearthside on July 23 by

upholding the planning board’s decision.

After the string of Hearthside victories came the surprising news

in October that the developer might be willing to sell.

The authors of a statewide ballot measure, known as Proposition

50, included language in their $3.44-billion clean water bond that

would pave the way for the state to purchase “not less than 100

acres” to preserve.

The initiative, known as the Clean Water and Coastal Protection

Bond, included $300 million to Los Angeles and Ventura counties for

wetlands projects. Whatever was unspent is available for Bolsa Chica.

Voters approved the bond on Nov. 5.

With the tide turning in favor of the preservationists, a San

Diego Superior Court judge tentatively ruled in late November that

the coastal commission did not overstep its bounds by limiting

Hearthside’s project.

Hearthside officials said the ruling was a victory for them,

because it cleared the development slate, giving them the ability to

submit a fresh plan to the commission.

In early December, Hearthside dropped a lawsuit against the Amigos

de Bolsa Chica, another group formed to preserve the mesa. The

developer had accused the group of breaking the terms of a 1989

agreement by criticizing the project in November.

Later in the month, the executive director of the California

Wildlife Conservation Board announced that he would hire an appraiser

in January to set a value on the land.

The City Council on Dec. 16 authorized Mayor Connie Boardman to

send a letter to the Department of Fish and Game asking its director

to direct the conservation board to “more forward in the

negotiations” to purchase the mesa.

-- Paul Clinton

Two killed in shocking Oak View shooting

9Gangland violence shattered the lives of two Huntington Beach

families in May when their two teenage relatives were gunned down on

an Oak View street corner.

On May. 11, 18-year-old Oscar Gaytan and 16-year-old Heriberto

Tapia Vasquez were shot as they were walking along Dairyview Circle.

Gaytan died nearby, at Nichols and Wagon streets, but Vasquez

crawled down the street toward a relative’s house. He collapsed on a

strip of sidewalk near Jacquelyn Lane.

The killings broke the city’s nearly three-year streak without a

homicide. They were the first since 29-year-old Bridgette Ballas was

bludgeoned to death on Nov. 27, 1999.

At the time, Councilwoman Shirley Dettloff called the killings

“very disturbing.”

Both boys were described by relatives in glowing terms. However,

they had been known for their brushes with police and school

administrators.

Gaytan, who had a 5-year-old son, had been released from juvenile

hall earlier in the year. An Ocean View High School assistant

principal said Gaytan had “a habitual truancy problem.”

Both were members of the South Side gang, friends and relatives

said. South Side is the city’s only Latino turf gang.

The slayings of the two were also the first double homicide in

Huntington Beach since 1995.

Almost seven years earlier to the day, on May 15, Harry Ryan, 48,

and Leopoldo Estrella-Varela, 30, were shot and killed in the 7500

block of Slater, about a block away.

In the days after this year’s killings, friends and relatives

erected elaborate floral memorials for the two boys, with pictures

and candles marking the spots of their demise.

On June 26, Huntington Beach police issued an arrest warrant for

Juan Jose Meza, 20, the prime suspect in the case.

To date, police are still investigating the case. No arrests have

been made.

-- Paul Clinton

Hyatt resort rises along the water

10Location, location, location is said to be the key when dealing

with real estate property, and the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach

Resort and Spa is sitting on a prime piece of beachfront land.

Sprawling along the northeast corner of Pacific Coast Highway and

Beach Boulevard, the spectacular 15-acre retreat is expected to be a

financial boon for the city.

It is scheduled for a January grand opening celebration.

The resort and spa is home to 519 guest rooms, 58 of which are

suites, including three presidential suites, 52,000 square feet of

convention space and three ocean-view ballrooms.

Walkways will lead guests around the resort and its six

courtyards, four of them facing the ocean.

In addition, the retreat features a private spa with 18 treatment

rooms and a smaller courtyard with three Jacuzzis.

To make way for the new edifice, residents of the Driftwood mobile

park home, which had stood on the site where the resort and spa was

to be erected, had to be relocated.

A majority of those mobile home owners relocated to another mobile

home park within the city, the Ocean View Mobile Homes Estates.

David Biggs, the director of economic development for the city,

said that the resort and spa will bring in several millions of

dollars to the city.

Biggs noted that the city will get “four sources of income” from

the resort,: a hotel tax, ground rent payment, a percentage of the

gross revenue and at least $1.5 million in property taxes.

In two to three years, Biggs estimated that the hotel tax should

bring in $2 million a year.

Developer Robert Mayer Corp, which was responsible for the city’s

other premier conference venue, the Waterfront Hilton, began

construction on the Hyatt 1 1/2 years ago.

-- Mike Sciacca