CITY ROUNDUP:Commissioner resigns, cites conflict

City planning commissioner Flossie Horgan has resigned, citing a possible conflict of interest now that she is executive director of the Bolsa Chica Land Trust. Councilwoman Debbie Cook thanked Horgan and appointed her replacement, former downtown business owner Joe Shaw, at the council meeting Monday.

Shaw, who sold his stores in March, resigned from the Downtown Business Improvement District recently to avoid any conflict of interest, Cook said at the meeting.

“He’s a former downtown merchant in our city who will bring a new set of skills,” Cook said. “He will also continue to work on sustainable building.”

On his website, Shaw said his goals as a commissioner would be to promote green and sustainable building, streamline bureaucracy for small projects, and “fill Flossie’s shoes as a conscientious, well-prepared commissioner who seeks to serve all interests fairly, and be a voice for the residents of Huntington Beach.”

Though the commission has not voted on Bolsa Chica-related issues since she took the job in February, Horgan said she expects several such votes to come up later on this year.

“People were saying it’s not a conflict of interest,” Horgan said. “But it’s just not worth it. All of us — citizens, elected officials, appointed officials — have to be totally transparent.”

Surf City Nights to return July 10

After a break for Fourth of July preparations, downtown Tuesday night festival Surf City Nights will return July 10 bigger than ever. Now that the necessary permits have been approved, a third block of Main Street will be closed, which organizers say will get the event closer to paying for itself. The street fair will now stretch from Pacific Coast Highway to Orange Avenue, featuring new entertainers and booths.

Surf City Nights takes place from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. every Tuesday on Main Street, and it is expected to run at least through the summer. Two hours of parking are free in nearby lots.

Extra passport demands slow application process

The city’s passport office has handled nearly as many applications since January as it normally does all year, said City Clerk Joan Flynn at Monday’s council meeting. New federal rules requiring passports for land and sea trips to Mexico, Canada, Bermuda and the Caribbean brought on the rush, she said.

“We’ve processed 3,000 passports,” she said. “That’s 95% of what we did in the full year last year.”

Because of the extra demand, the federal government is much slower to process applications this year, she added, warning travelers to apply as early as possible. But her office has solved more than 75 difficult situations and has yet to see someone forced to cancel a trip, she added.

“Come see us if you have any questions about passports,” she said. “We have some very supportive staff.”

Technology plan is approved

The California Department of Education has approved of the Huntington Beach Union High School District’s technology plan and its three-to-five-year strategic plan.