Shot across the boards

Huntington officials are working to beach Oceanside’s proposal to grab the mantle of official state surf museum.First it was the battle of surf cities. Now it’s the battle of surf museums.

Huntington Beach officials are stepping up opposition to a plan by a San Diego County state senator to honor the California Surfing Museum in Oceanside as the state’s official museum of surfing history and memorabilia.

The fight is about both local pride and money. The official title could pave the way for future state grants for the Oceanside museum, leaving Huntington Beach’s own International Surfing Museum high and dry.

Local officials argue it might be premature to pick an official state surfing museum. Huntington Beach’s Gary Sahagen said about six or seven surfing museums dot California’s coastline, with the facilities in Huntington Beach and another at Santa Cruz’s Steamer Lane usually standing out as the most well-known. At 2,000 square feet, Huntington Beach’s International Surfing Museum is about 800 square feet larger than the facility in Oceanside. Neither is really big enough yet to warrant the distinction of being the official museum of California, Sahagen said.

He added that he envisions a day when a much larger surfing museum is built, with state-of-the-art facilities and an extensive collection of surfing memorabilia. The International Surfing Museum has at least four storage bins of material it can’t house because its space is too small. There are also extensive private collections, like the San Clemente-based Surfing Heritage Foundation. Sahagen said it may take a 40,000-square-foot-facility to honor the sport of surfing, and state politicians might want to think twice before making the designation.

“It might be premature to select any one at this point,” he said. “I would be surprised if the state endorsed a museum without establishing the proper guidelines.”

Oceanside museum volunteers said Huntington Beach’s strong opposition to the proposal baffled them. California Surfing Museum founder Jane Schmuss said the legislation was brought forward by state Sen. Bill Morrow to honor the facility’s 20th anniversary. She said her museum was inspired by Huntington Beach’s own efforts to preserve its surfing legacy.

“They wanted to become Surf City, and that’s what got us thinking,” she said.

Huntington Beach is locked in a battle with Santa Cruz over which beach town is the true Surf City, U.S.A. In 2004, tourism officials with Huntington Beach moved to trademark the moniker, angering Santa Cruz officials who petitioned state Sen. Joe Simitian to introduce a resolution declaring Santa Cruz the official Surf City U.S.A. That resolution is still pending.

Officials with Morrow’s office said the recent resolution aimed to honor the museum’s focus on California surfing; the Huntington Beach museum is geared toward surfing as an international sport.

“It’s important to preserve such a important part of California history,” said Aaron Byzak, Morrow’s district representative. “Surfing is such a vital part of our economy, especially on our coast.”

The bill was introduced on the Senate floor on Jan. 13 and will be reviewed by the Senate Rules Committee in the coming weeks.

“It’s got a long road ahead,” Byzak said.

Huntington Beach officials are planning to officially oppose the legislation. Mayor Dave Sullivan is set to write a letter in opposition to the resolution, and Assemblyman Tom Harman said he would vote against the proposal.

Schmuss said she was sad to see the resolution turn into a controversy.

“We want this to be an inclusive thing. We would definitely invite them to come along on this ride,” she said of the other museums. “I don’t know how, but we could certainly start by talking to them.”

QUESTION

Should local leaders be concerned about Oceanside dropping in on the official surf museum designation? Call our Readers Hotline at (714) 966-4691 or send e-mail to hbindependent@ latimes.com. Please spell your name and include your hometown and phone number for verification purposes.20060216iuqza3ncKENT TREPTOW / INDEPENDENT(LA)Gary Sahagen, left, Don MacAllister, Natalie Kotsch, Doug Traub and Dean Torrence of Huntington Beach’s International Surfing Museum aren’t on board with proposed legislation that would make an Oceanside facility the official surfing museum of the state of California.20060216iuqwexncDOUGLAS ZIMMERMAN / INDEPENDENT(LA)The International Surfing Museum is in downtown Huntington Beach.