City offers alternative to bridges

The City Council reinforced its opposition to two proposed bridges on

the county’s master highway plan Monday, pledging support instead for

a series of highway improvements.

The proposed bridges would cross the Santa Ana River, connecting

Costa Mesa to Huntington Beach and Fountain Valley, one at Banning

Avenue and 19th Street and another at Garfield and Gisler avenues.

The bridges are on the Orange County Transportation Authority’s

Master Plan of Arterial Highways, which maps out the county’s future

transportation system, but the environmental report is stalled, since

there’s no agreement between involved cities to push anything

forward.

“This city, along with Costa Mesa, opposes the bridge over

Garfield and the bridge over Banning, but Newport Beach doesn’t,”

Mayor Connie Boardman said at Monday’s meeting.

The council requested that city planners assume that bridges

aren’t on the traffic model for future planning purposes and

recommended an alternative compromise in which all city would undergo

street improvements to make up for the removal of the bridges.

Improvements could include adding lanes or widening streets to

accommodate future traffic growth.

The city hopes that supporting the alternative will break the

deadlock between the cities and allow deletion plans to move forward,

city officials say.

“The process is now at a standstill, and there’s the potential for

it to completely unravel,” said Ed DeMuelle, president of the

Southeast Huntington Beach Neighborhood Assn. “The compromise with

the city of Costa Mesa allows us the possibility to move forward.”

Public meetings scheduled for Pacific City project

A massive development project slated for nearly 31 acres of

beachfront property in Downtown Huntington Beach will be the object

of discussion at a series of public meetings scheduled next month.

Pacific City, to be built in the lot bound by Pacific Coast

Highway, Atlanta Avenue, Huntington and 1st streets, will include 516

condominium units, a 400-room luxury resort and 240,000 square feet

of shopping, restaurants, entertainment and office space.

Plans for Pacific City show the area spotted with swimming pools,

parks and tree-lined pedestrian walkways that lead to the retail

promenade and to Downtown Huntington Beach. Groundbreaking for the

project is scheduled for 2004.

The Planning Commission will hold its first study sessions on the

Pacific City project a 5:15 p.m. Sept. 9 and 23 in Room B-8 at City

Hall. The public comment period for the environmental report is

scheduled to start in late September, and the Planning Commission’s

public hearing process is set to begin in February 2004.

For more information on the proposed project, contact Scott Hess

at (714) 536-5554.

Parkside Estates parcel under city jurisdiction

A state agency approved the transfer of five acres in Huntington

Beach from county to city jurisdiction. Once the annexation is

finalized, the 40-acre parcel slated to become Parkside Estates will

be managed by the city, rather than split between city and the

county.

Landowner and developer Shea Homes will no longer have to seek

county approval to build Parkside Estates, which would have 171

single-family homes, 8.2 acres of public parks and 3.3 acres of open

space.

Local environmentalists hope that a transfer of land from city to

county hands, will lead police to crackdown on paintball players.

City police, rather than county sheriffs, will be responsible for

patrol of the area.

“Maybe now, with more police enforcement, police could respond to

paintballers,” Bixby said.

The swap was approved by the Local Area Formation Commission on

Aug. 13, but still needs City Council approval.

The project was approved by the City Council last October and is

now awaiting approval by the California Coastal Commission. The

Coastal Commission has not yet set a public hearing date.

Huck Finn Fishing Derby at the pier Saturday

The Pacific Ocean is far from the Mississippi River, and the sand

hardly the frontier, but no one will care this weekend when children

dressed like Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher flock to cast

their lines into the water.

Children are invited to dress in their favorite frontier garb and

bring their own fishing poles for the 40th annual Huck Finn Fishing

Derby on Saturday.

The event will be held at the Huntington Beach Pier from 9:30 a.m.

to noon, with registration starting at 8 a.m. A small amount of bait

will be available. More bait can be purchased at the pier.

Prizes include fishing poles, bicycles, fishing passes and

skateboards.

For information, call Dottie Hughes at (714) 536-5262.

Commission resignation leads to Livengood return

When Planning Commissioner Don Stanton resigns his seat on the

board next week, a familiar face will take his place.

Former planning commissioner Tom Livengood, who served on the

board for eight years, will replace Stanton, who is moving to

Victorville.

Stanton’s resignation is effective Aug. 29. Livengood will take

over at the next meeting.

Livengood made an unsuccessful bid, at the urging of many

residents, for Dave Garofalo’s seat when the former councilman and

mayor stepped down in January 2002.

Councilwoman Cathy Green, who appointed Livengood, believes that

his experience will be an asset to the commission, which has been

grappling with the fate of the controversial desalination plant since

May.

“He certainly knows planning, he’s willing to do it, and he’s got

so much experience that he can hit the ground running,” Green said.

“Right now, there’s so many things going on in planning, I think he

can really take a leadership role.”

New restaurant

opens its doors

A new multi-ethnic restaurant opened in Surf City this month, the

first of what owners hope will be a chain.

The Lazy Dog Cafe is owned and operated by restaurant veteran Tom

Simms and his son, Chris. They describe the restaurant, which serves

Chinese, Italian, South American and French dishes, as American with

a touch of Asian sophistication and European flair.

“The menu’s more upscale, there’s more to choose from, and they

have a full-on bar,” said Ann Oullette, spokeswoman for the Lazy Dog

Cafe.

The Lazy Dog Cafe is at 16310 Beach Blvd., south of the San Diego

Freeway in the Target/Pavilions shopping center. For reservations,

call (714) 500-1140.

“You can bring your family, but if you want to go for a romantic

dinner, you can do that also,” Oullette said. “They cater to both.”