Saving historic Main Street

Council looks for ways to block destruction of bungalow, building of mansion in beloved Wesley Park tract.The City Council is considering a plan to save a small bungalow on Main Street and may impose a building moratorium to prevent demolition.

It remains unclear what, if anything, the City Council can do to protect the house at 737 Main St. from being torn down and replaced by a 5,300-square-foot mansion, but council members unanimously approved a plan Monday to get the ball rolling on a program that could preserve the character of Main Street.

At the prompting of Councilwoman Cathy Green, the City Council voted to create a neighborhood preservation overlay for what is traditionally called the Wesley Park tract -- the residential area downtown that runs approximately from the 600 to the 1100 block of Main Street.

“We need to preserve the character of the downtown area,” Green said. “For many, this is a very special neighborhood.”

Under the proposal outlined by Green, city planning staff will meet with area residents and develop enforceable guidelines for future homeowners. There is a chance the plan could block the construction of the mansion at 737 Main St.; at the very least, it would block the construction of other mansions in the area.

Planning Director Howard Zelefsky said the proposal is less restrictive than creating a historical district for downtown Huntington Beach. That would require a historical assessment of all the structures in downtown Huntington Beach and create restrictive building guidelines.

“If the city adopts a historic designation for this part of the city, it becomes a little difficult to even remodel those properties,” he said.

How that affects the proposal to build the 737 Main St. mansion remains unclear, Zelefsky said. If property owner Raisa Markarian were to submit a proposal today that met all the current building requirements, the city would have no choice but to approve the project. As rules stand now, the project requires an environmental assessment to determine if destroying the home will have a negative impact on the surrounding community.

Neighbors living in the 600, 700 and 800 blocks of Main Street have said that the construction of a large Mediterranean-style mansion among the dozens of craftsman bungalows would be an eyesore on the famous street, home to the city’s annual Fourth of July parade.

“A lot of people have worked to preserve their homes in the style they were built in the 1920s,” said neighbor Nuanna Robinson. “If they put that house in here, it will make all the other cottages look bad.”

Robinson lives next door to the proposed mansion and said the building would block out natural light from her backyard, which is recognized as an urban wildlife habitat by a national nonprofit group.

Councilwoman Debbie Cook said she would support a 30-day moratorium on demolitions on Main Street and might introduce a proposal at the council’s Jan. 9 meeting. Approval of a moratorium would require affirmative votes from six of the seven council members.