Let the shopping begin

Dave Brooks

Christmas shopping begins earlier each year for Ashleigh Bannersdorf.

The 31-year-old Huntington Beach mother of three said she broke a

personal record this year when she woke up at 4 a.m. to catch a deal

at a local electronics store that was opening an hour later.

“Most people think I’m crazy for getting up so early, but it’s not

something I really debated with myself,” she said. “I wanted to be

one of the first people in the store, and 5 a.m. was just when they

happened to open. What else can I say?”

Bannersdorf was one of hundreds of Surf City residents who took

part in the annual blitz of holiday shopping Friday. The day after

Thanksgiving is typically considered the official opening of the

Christmas shopping season, and many use their day off to buy presents

for friends and family.

While the holiday represents major revenue for Huntington Beach

retailers, city coffers don’t often see the surge in sales tax

revenue that other municipalities enjoy. The loss in potential

earnings could make a difference for the city’s cashed strapped

services and city leaders hope to change that tide with several new

retail developments slated to be completed during the next few years.

Christmas represents the bulk of the business at Five Points

Plaza, one of the city’s largest and most acclaimed shopping centers.

“This time of the year, business owners bring in about 40% of

their annual sales,” said site manager Maureen Sloan James who added

that most retailers enjoyed a robust weekend.

On Friday, Girl Scouts at the center wrapped Christmas presents

for shoppers, while a caricature artist sketched drawings of hurried

consumers -- all in an effort to draw in more business.

“So far it’s going great,” said Sloan James, who pointed out that

one of her clothing outlets outsold its counterpart at retail giant

South Coast Plaza. “I don’t have the exact figures yet. Sales seem

really strong.”

Five Points Plaza is one of the city’s most successful retail

holdings, and if the city wants to increase its sales tax revenue,

it’s going to have encourage more developments like it, said new

Councilman Keith Bohr.

“There’s plenty of money in Huntington Beach,” he said. “The

problem is that we’re going to have to capture it from going into

other cities.”

Historically, residents in Huntington Beach resist efforts to pay

additional taxes, he said, so the only way to upgrade services is to

improve the city’s retail and tourism sectors, both of which could

generate sales tax revenue.

Money from sales tax represents only about 21% of the city’s discretionary spending, reports the California State Controllers

Office. Of the 31 cities in Orange County, Huntington Beach ranks in

the bottom 20% for percentage of sales tax revenue the report found

-- sales tax accounts for 47% of Westminster’s annual revenue, 38%

for Garden Grove, 46% for Irvine and 51% for Costa Mesa.

Each of the cities, Bohr argues, are capturing Huntington Beach’s

holiday dollars because of their major retail centers, such as the

Spectrum in Irvine and Costa Mesa’s South Coast Plaza.

Those same city’s see major fluctuations in their sales tax

revenue during the fourth economic quarter, while Huntington Beach

remains relatively constant, Huntington Beach Business Development

Director Jim Lamb said.

“We actually see more sales tax revenue coming in the summer and

fall months,” said Lamb, who estimates that most of Huntington

Beach’s sales tax is derived from auto revenue and the tourism

industry.

“We think that will change as the major developments the city has

been working on are completed,” he said.

By August of 2005, the Huntington Beach Mall, recently renamed

Bella Terra, will be complete with several department store anchors

and dozens of specialty retail and clothing shops. Mixed-use projects

along the Pacific Coast Highway including the Strand and Pacific City

could also make Huntington Beach a regional shopping destination.

After those projects are complete, Bohr said the council needs to

look at revitalizing the city’s retail corridors, especially along

Beach Boulevard and Edinger Avenue. Until then, residents need to be

reminded of the importance of shopping locally and keeping their tax

dollars in Huntington Beach.

“If you want to buy something and it’s out of town, by all means

do it, but if we have the products here and you go somewhere else,

that’s really inexcusable,” he said.

* DAVE BROOKS covers City Hall. He can be reached at (714)

966-4609 or by e-mail at [email protected].