Strand lawsuits settled

The City Council approved a settlement Monday resolving the two

lawsuits filed against the city over the controversial Strand

project, which proposes to revamp the first several blocks of

Downtown.

The council voted 5 to 1 to pay $100,000 in attorney fees to

Citizens Against Redevelopment Excess. Mayor Connie Boardman cast the

dissenting vote, and Councilwoman Pam Julien Houchen abstained.

Citizens Against Redevelopment Excess filed two separate lawsuits

against the city in 2001 challenging the project.

The group’s main complaint was that the project would clog an

already crowded Downtown by not providing enough parking. CIM Group

has proposed a two-story underground structure that would add 400

stalls to the area.

Group spokesman James A. Lane said the little surf-wear shops and

liquor stores nearby will be squeezed out by a dearth of parking for

employees and customers.

Lane’s group also appealed the city’s approval of the project with

the California Coastal Commission, which denied that appeal at its

Jan. 10 meeting.

Under the settlement, the city will pay $100,000 in attorney’s

fees to the group and Abdelmuti Development Co.

CIM Group Inc., developer for the Strand, will pay them $75,000.

The 225,000-square-foot multi-use project would include a 152-room

Residence Inn and eight high-end shops.

“I don’t particularly care for the project,” Councilwoman Debbie

Cook said. “I’m only approving the settlement of the lawsuits. [The

strand] is too massive. I think it’s trying to create a second Main

Street, which could detract from the real Main Street.”

Negotiations focused on the effect that the project will have on

parking Downtown. Business owners in the area had concerns that the

Strand will clog an area that is already overcrowded.

Under the agreement, if parking in the Strand garage and the Main

Pier garage exceeds 85%, the city has agreed to perform a parking

study to find parking solutions.

Also, new parking passes will be distributed to selected business

owners in the area.

Hyatt grand opening ceremony is a lavish event

Men leapt from planes, red carpets were rolled out, wine flowed

freely and the bounty overflowed.

The grand opening of the Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort &

Spa was as lavish as the new resort. Hundreds of people crowded the

beach parking lot at the base of the new bridge last week, some in

business attire, others in casual beachwear.

Two skydivers and two sky surfers dropped from the sky to open a

ceremony in which several hotel executives and city officials

recalled the hotel’s 25-year development process.

Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, County Supervisor Jim Silva and

Mayor Pro Tem Cathy Green were all present to offer developer Robert

Mayor congratulations, thanks and proclamations.

“If California only had a state budget as wonderful as its

weather,” Rohrabacher said.

Mayer, developer and chairman of the Robert Mayor Corporation,

spoke of the building of the Hyatt, a process that he said took great

effort, consternation and risk. A series of delays over the years

slowed construction of the resort, including the 1996 oil spill,

entitlements and discussions with the city and the coastal

commission, Mayer said at the ceremony.

Chairman of the Hyatt Development Corporation Nick Pritzker cut

the ribbon, a botanical creation designed out of sea kelp, assorted

shells and bright pink flowers.

After the ceremony, everyone crossed the hotel’s pedestrian

footbridge to the resort’s Lighthouse Courtyard, where Dean Torrence

and the Surf-City All-Stars played Beach Boys songs while several of

the hotel’s 480 employees served an array of tidbits including sushi,

vegetables and crab cakes.

Cutting captain position will save city thousands

In a proactive, cost-cutting effort, Police Chief Kenneth Small

advised the council to cut one captain position from his staff.

His suggestion, which the City Council unanimously approved at its

meeting Monday night, will save the city $174,132 per year.

Cutting the position will mean reorganizing the police department,

but no one is being laid off. A position vacated when a captain

retired a month ago will simply not be filled.

The reorganization will increase efficiency, improve service to

the community and reduce costs, Small said.

The police department is organized into four divisions:

administration, investigation, uniform and special operations. Each

is headed by a captain, who reports to the chief of police.

The actions will slash the special operations division, leaving

the department with only three divisions.

“I don’t sense that this will in any way diminish the level of

service to the community or to other customers, like our elected

officials,” Small said.

These functions will be shifted to other divisions:

Building and fleet maintenance, jail, payroll and technology

functions will be transferred to a new division called Administrative

Operations. Records and property/evidence will now be managed by the

Investigation Division; and community and community policing will

move to the Uniform Division.

Civil liability and accounting will now be assigned directly to

the police chief, who said he thinks he needs hands-on control of the

budget.