Judge upholds senior center ruling

An Orange County Superior Court judge has upheld his ruling on Huntington Beach’s $22-million senior center.

Judge David C. Velasquez, in a Nov. 17 ruling, found the city to be in violation of its general plan and the California Environmental Quality Act. He also upheld that using the entire $22 million on the project violates a state act, according to court documents.

The center was to be built on a 5-acre section of Huntington Central Park, but the Parks Legal Defense Fund, a citizens group, filed a lawsuit against the city in March 2008 challenging the project.

The city was ordered to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Report looking into alternative locations, according to the documents.

The facility was expected to be completed in April 2011 and would have replaced the Michael E. Rodgers Seniors’ Center on Orange Avenue with a 45,000-square-foot, one-story center.

— Britney Barnes