School district needs to keep space open...

School district needs to keep space open

The Fountain Valley School District Board of Trustees approved the

sale of the Ward and Lamb school sites located in Huntington Beach at

the Feb. 10, 2005 meeting. The board’s stated intent is to sell the

properties for residential purposes for approximately $50 million

dollars and use the invested income to fund annual operating

expenses.

For decades the open space on these school sites has been used by

thousands of Huntington Beach residents annually for recreational and

open space purposes. Open space is a necessity of life to feed the

mind, body and spirit of our citizens. Once open space is developed

it is gone forever.

Huntington Beach Tomorrow’s position on closed school sites is to

preserve the open space and allow development only within the

footprint of the existing buildings on the property. The complete

position with its supporting rationale may be found at

www.hbtomorrow.org.

It is expected the school district will follow state law by

declaring the sites surplus and offer the sites for sale to the city

within a few weeks. The city will then have 60 days to accept or

refuse the offer. Huntington Beach Tomorrow understands the city does

not have the funds to purchase the property nor is there time to

conduct a bond issue ballot.

Huntington Beach Tomorrow requests the City Council take immediate

actions to prevent the conversion of open space on these school sites

to other uses.

One option is to zone the open space on the properties officials

as open space. Supporting rationale is the open space was always

planned to be used as open space and has been used for that purpose

since inception. In addition, Government Code Section 65852.9 states

a city may rezone school sites to “open-space, park or recreation, or

similar designation” where the adjacent property is so zoned. The

Wardlow school site is adjacent to Wardlow Park. The school buildings

could continue to be leased or sold to provide income to the school

district.

Huntington Beach Tomorrow believes the City Council and city staff

will need to take immediate, forthright actions to prevent the

permanent loss of these valuable community resources. Huntington

Beach Tomorrow strongly supports actions that will lead to preserving

these open spaces for posterity.

ED KERINS

President, Huntington Beach Tomorrow

Redevelopment right for Beach, Adams

Redevelopment at Beach and Atlanta would have the potential to

increase sales tax revenue to our city, improve the grading and

drainage of a low lying large parcel that is currently under used due

to the way the buildings are placed on the site.

Lessons learned from the long-term wait for completion of the

redevelopment of Huntington Center need to be applied here: The

anchoring tenants must be carefully integrated and transitioned into

the process. It has taken far too long for the new shopping center at

Beach and Edinger to come online and a major reason is the delays due

to negotiations needed with the anchors there: former Montgomery

Ward, Burlington Coat Factory and Mervyns. It would be difficult to

leave the existing larger buildings in the same positions and build

around them at Beach and Atlanta.

Due to the flood plain location (note the higher graded elevation

of the project built recently north of Beach and Atlanta), careful

grading will be required to insure the impact of changes in grade are

addressed in the planning process and any high rise construction is

well engineered for this specific location.

It would be informative to hear from our local government how much

sales tax revenue loss is projected by the closure of Kmart on

Magnolia and the redevelopment of Target on Adams until these

locations are again occupied and open as Home Depot and an updated

Target store and how that affects our city budget. For the short term

it is hoped that the owners of the commercial property at Beach and

Atlanta will work with their existing tenants to keep the center

viable until it is necessary to demolish some of the existing

structures. May the owners manage their property well and create a

good plan for the best use for this property and a realistic time

table for its redevelopment.

KAREN JACKLE

Huntington Beach

Mall change overdue, needs proper care

When I first heard about the dilapidated strip mall getting an

overhaul I was very excited. My husband and I lived in Seaside

Village for four years (still own the property), which is directly

across from Big Lots on the west side of Beach Boulevard. We had

always wanted to see something done with that property. After reading

the article in the Independent, I became concerned when I saw a

preliminary proposal for a multi-story luxury hotel. Huntington Beach

already has two luxury hotels that sit at less then capacity the

majority of the year. Another hotel is planned for The Strand as well

as Pacific City. Five luxury hotels is not what the city of

Huntington Beach needs.

Huntington Beach needs more upscale shopping so residents won’t

travel to nearby South Coast Plaza or Westminster Mall. We also need

more restaurants to support the travelers who stay in the nearby

Hilton and Hyatt as well as the locals who travel to places like

Fashion Island for dinner. Building another luxury hotel at Beach and

Atlanta is not site specific for the size of property it would be

located on. That strip mall -- as old as it may be -- sits right in

the middle of residential communities. Anything being built more than

two or three stories will not be appropriate for that location.

I do like the idea of a European look but hope the city of

Huntington Beach will proceed with caution. We don’t want South Coast

Plaza or Fashion Island traffic problems.

ANGIE DAHMAN

Huntington Beach

Proposal has ups and downs to it

I was excited, as I’m sure many of my neighbors in southeast

Huntington Beach were, to read the article about a project that will

eventually replace the long outdated strip mall at the corner of

Beach and Atlanta. Las Barcas aside, that property has been in need

of a new identity for 20 years, at least. New ideas are what that

property needs and I look forward to its future.

However, I was concerned to read a quote attributed to Bijan

Sassounian: “We don’t want to jeopardize our project by bringing in

opposition.” He was also reported as saying he didn’t want to release

any details until a formal application had been submitted to the

planning department.

I might suggest to Sassounian that he reevaluate his tact. It has

been my experience that people appreciate being made part of the

process from the beginning phases rather than be handed a finished

project and have to either accept it or fight it. It is much easier

for the planners to know what concerns a neighborhood might have

before setting pencil to paper. Believe me, the people of southeast

Huntington Beach are familiar with what makes a project one we might

want to take ownership of and what makes another project a source of

long term angst. Bring the community in early. Set up neighborhood

meetings and get that feedback now rather than at a heated planning

commission meeting two years from now.

DAVID GUIDO

Huntington Beach

Time for southeast development

My first impressions is finally southeast Huntington Beach is even

considered for development. I live off Newland and Atlanta, and

theses street looks like it did in the 1940s. We neighbors call it

tobacco road (Newland Street). It’s just amazing this city’s streets

could look so bad, isn’t it? I guess if the City Council members

lived on this side of town instead of the rich west side, things

might be different.

THOMAS ACHREM

Huntington Beach

Marathon missed one national addition

I thoroughly enjoyed Sunday’s Pacific Shoreline Marathon, and I

especially want to thank the hundreds of volunteers who made it

happen. I have run a lot of these events all over the country, and I

can honestly say I think this is one of the only events I have run

that did not start out with the national anthem. It was noticeably

missed. I recommend adding it to next year’s event.

DWIGHT COLLINS

Huntington Beach

Desalination plant would ease mind

The last thing I want to be concerned about is water, but I am.

All this talk about our depleting reservoirs has raised security

concerns of my future.

As a civilized human I am reliant on water for showers,

maintaining clean dishes, clean clothes, a clean house and my

family’s survival. After we’ve wasted our reservoirs, will we have to

melt the glaciers in Alaska to get fresh water? How much will this

cost? As it is, I’m already moderating myself with other necessities

to keep the bills down. Every little thing counts.

As a tax-paying resident of Huntington Beach, I expect our City

Council to ensure the quality of life for their citizens. I believe a

desalination facility is the best resolution to a potential crisis

because it will cut our dependency on already dwindling sources of

water. Let’s save money and ensure the continuation of our

lifestyles. With the creation of such a facility, we can all feel a

little more secure.

PAUL BORGSTED

Huntington Beach

Conservation only way to save water

The only bit of truth in the whole article was that conservation

was the way to conserve water (“Future is a flush away,” Jan. 13).

The city of Huntington Beach should use Irvine as a model in their

three-tier conservation plan. It’s cheap and it works. The people of

Huntington Beach will welcome an inexpensive way to conserve water

instead of this boondoggle desalination plan that Poseidon is trying

to cram down our throats. That dog won’t hunt.

EILEEN MURPHY

Huntington Beach

Bushard work a disaster from get-go

I watch with great interest, despair and disgust the construction

on Bushard Street in southeast Huntington Beach. This is a new sewer

line being put in by the Orange County Sanitation District. The new

pipe will benefit Fountain Valley, Westminster, Garden Grove,

Stanton, Fullerton and Buena Park and I see no way it will benefit

Huntington Beach residents.

The project was started in December of 2002 and was to take 24

months to complete. They are not even close to finishing. To quote

their information letter of August 2003, “As the project proceeds,

construction along Bushard Street will take place in 1/4 mile to

1/2 mile segments, with road closures lasting approximately two to

three weeks.” The person that wrote this is probably the same one

that appeared in front of the Huntington Beach City Council and said

they would be putting the pipe in at a rate of 80-100 feet per day. I

don’t think they could achieve this in six months.

Notice of closure beginning Feb. 5, 2004 to do approximately

four-tenths of a mile on Bushard from Banning to Drumbeat was

scheduled for 12 weeks or three months. It was not completed until

July of 2004, or 6 months to go less than 1/2 mile. All of this time

Bushard is closed and we have one or maybe two exits out of our

tracts. The closures of tract entrances were common everywhere they

closed a street. On Aug. 2, 2004 they started on the last tenth of a

mile on Bushard to Hamilton and the projected time to complete it was

two months. What happened to the 1/4 mile to 1/2 mile in two to

three weeks? This whole project is a disaster.

Approximately a month ago they stopped work on Bushard between

Hamilton and Atlanta. The machines just sat there with no one working

on anything. They then paved the road and stripped and it is still

closed. I asked an official at the sanitation district on Feb. 8 when

Bushard would be open. He said sometime in February. That could be

three weeks from now. Why is Bushard not open? I was told they had to

put in another small pipe. Why didn’t they do it when they had all

the equipment here? The street just sits there with barricades and

the residents of the area are not allowed to use the whole street

from Hamilton to Atlanta.

I have never seen an incompetent public works job as this one on

Bushard. No one will give you a straight answer and don’t seem to

care.

The best or worst part is they are not even close to finishing

this job and I would guess it will go on for the next three to four

years. In the meantime those of us in southeast Huntington Beach will

be inconvenienced as we are now with absolutely no benefit only

detriment until it is finished.

At this point I wouldn’t trust the sanitation district to take

pure drinking water and make it into sewer water.

TOPPER HORACK

Southeast Huntington Beach

Freeway extension would do little

It’s hard to believe that anyone would be in favor of the

extension of the Orange (57) Freeway into Huntington Beach. A freeway

going down the bed of the Santa Ana River would hurt the

neighborhoods along the riverbed, lower the value of the homes,

disturb Talbert Marsh and Talbert Nature Preserve and chase away the

wildlife that has found a home in this area. Birds like the bald

eagle, ospreys, cormorants, egrets, herons and many different types

of hawks would need to leave. We would lose a lot and gain very

little.

GABI DENDINGER

Huntington Beach