Southeast area sets its priorities

A group of residents from Southeast Huntington Beach met with City

Council members and city staff last week to identify projects that

need to done in the neighborhood, which was designated as a

redevelopment area last year.

At the top of the list was storm drain renovations. Residents also

hope to see Newland Street widened, a new sidewalk on Magnolia Street

and a new traffic signal at Newland Street and Hamilton Avenue.

An estimated $1.2 million in redevelopment funds has been set

aside for projects for the year.

“We were putting priorities in order,” City Councilwoman Cathy

Green said. “We want to do anything that we can do to make the area

look better, safer and more hospitable for the people who live

there.”

City staff is now evaluating the projects to try and come up with

funding sources so that the committee can take its recommendation to

the City Council. Plans for the projects will be finalized during the

summer and will be included in next year’s fiscal budget.

“We don’t want to use all the redevelopment funds if there are

other funding mechanisms,” Green said.

While planning will start this summer, some of the larger projects

may not begin until 2004 or 2005, said Gus Duran, housing and

redevelopment manager.

“Engineers still have to be hired, have to draw up plans and have

to make bids,” Duran said.

The Southeast Area Committee is a three-member committee of the

City Council that studies issues and monitors projects in the city’s

southeast section. Council members Dave Sullivan, Jill Hardy and

Cathy Green were appointed to the committee in December 2002.

Also present at the meeting were representatives from various

organizations such as the Southeast Neighborhood Homeowners Assn.,

the Huntington Beach Coastal Communities Assn. and the Huntington

Beach Wetlands Conservancy.

The next meeting will be at 3:30 p.m. Thursday, April 15, in

meeting room B-8.

Shipley Nature Center to host its first bird walk

The gates of the closed Shipley Nature Center will open for a bird

walk this month.

The walk is being hosted by the Friends of the Shipley Nature

Center, a volunteer organization working to restore the center, and

will be led by expert birder Lena Yee Hayashi at 8 a.m. April 13.

Gates will be locked again once the walk begins.

The Shipley Nature Center closed its doors when the city cut its

funding on Oct. 1, 2002. Before closing, the center served 4,000

visitors per year and provided educational field trips to 9,000

school children annually.

The nature center is an 18-acre natural landscape and home to oak

woodlands, Torry Pine trees, coastal sage scrub and a freshwater

wetland. The Friends of the Shipley Nature Center are in the process

of a large-scale restoration project that involves removing foreign

plants, restoring the area with native plants and upgrading the

museum and its exhibits. Volunteers hope to reopen the nature center

to the public on a regular basis.

A $5 donation is requested for the bird walk. To sign up, contact

Stephanie Pacheco, president of Friends of the Shipley Nature Center,

at (714) 846-0916 or (714) 963-1658.

Waterfront Residential is taking names

Developers have begun taking names for the homes that will be

built behind the new Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa.

The Waterfront Residential will be 184 homes separated into two

communities. SeaColony at the Waterfront, built by Christopher Homes,

will have 78 units, ranging from 2,961 to 3,384 square feet and

priced in the high $800,000s.

William Lyon Homes’ SeaCove will consist of 106 courtyard

townhomes, ranging from 1,620 square feet to 2,628 square feet. They

will be priced in the $500,000 range.

Model designs for both Waterfront Residential communities should

be available this summer. For more information or to sign up, visit

hbwaterfront.com.

Fitness club collects for Project Self Sufficiency

Members of Curves, a new women’s fitness club, were given free

membership for a week when they brought in a bag of groceries to

benefit the club’s food drive.

Curves’ members have been asked to take part in a service campaign

to benefit Project Self Sufficiency, which assists low-income, single

parents in breaking free from government assistance.

The project, which began in 1985, raises funds for child care,

transportation, tuition, job training and educational resources.

Spearheaded by Andrea Thomas, owner of the Curves fitness center

at Adams Avenue and Magnolia Street, the gym has already collected

more than 1,000 pounds of food and paper goods.

To participate in the food drive, contact Andrea Thomas at (714)

593-8690.

Openings left for the annual golf tournament

Slots for the city’s annual golf tournament are disappearing

quickly. The tournament, set to take place at Meadowlark Golf Course,

is open to men and women and limited to 100 golfers. Green fees,

carts, tee prizes and one food/drink coupon are included in the $80

registration fee. Approximately 40 slots are still open.

A low gross score and low net score will be awarded to the top 10

players. Register at the fifth floor of City Hall, or call 536-5486

for more information.