Two study sessions left on downtown plan

Residents and city planners are going into the home stretch of the Downtown Specific Plan’s study sessions with two left before the proposed changes go before the Planning Commission for a public hearing.

The update would consolidate the downtown from 11 separate districts to seven, and encompass the area south of Goldenwest Street and north of Beach Boulevard along the beach and up to Palm Avenue in the downtown area. From Sixth Street north, the plan extends up to Walnut Avenue. South of Main Street, the plan includes the resort areas.

The city’s next study session at 5 p.m. Sept. 1 will be devoted solely to the proposed changes to district one — the heart of downtown. The proposed changes to the district include a cultural arts overlay, which would act as a northern hub for Main Street with the Huntington Beach Art Center, a possible cultural center and a performing arts theater.

The Downtown Specific Plan is a long-range planning document that dictates building and parking specifications and design guidelines. The plan is being updated to increase development over the next 20 years.

Residents have taken issue with the overlay and are specifically concerned with the possibility of having a cultural center built on Triangle Park. Residents have started a Huntington Beach Downtown Residents Assn. and are circulating a petition to save Triangle Park and the Main Street Library, which they fear could be destroyed if the center is built.

The final study session on the draft Environmental Impact Report will be Sept. 9, before the Sept. 22 Planning Commission public hearing.

The report is available to the public on the city’s website, at the Main Street Library, City Hall and the Michael E. Rodgers Senior Center, city officials said.

— Britney Barnes