Huts to take a hike?

Developer wants to remove Quonset huts on 17th Street to build large home improvement store. Business owners there have mixed reactions. WESTSIDE-- The Quonset huts on 17th Street may one day be replaced by a big-box retailer.

During World War II, the huts were used as temporary barracks for U.S. Army personnel. Tuesday, the Costa Mesa City Council gave permission to Pacific Mesa Properties to submit plans that could lead to the huts being removed to make way for a large home improvement store.

“All we did is say, ‘OK you guys, we’ll hear your pitch,” Councilman Eric Bever said.

Pacific Mesa Properties needed permission to submit plans for the store because the area is currently zoned for industrial use, not retail.

Located east of the Newport Boulevard and 17th Street intersection, the Quonset huts house a variety of small businesses. Constructed from metal, the Quonset huts have rounded roofs and look like miniature airplane hangars. Franco Fallani, the owner of an antique restoration company called Fallani and Son, said he moved his business to the a Quonset hut to escape high rents in Signal Hill. For Fallani, the potential removal of the huts is a cause for worry.

“It will be devastating because we moved here two years ago and we started from nothing,” Fallani said.

However, another business owner who makes her living in a Quonset hut said she does not fret over the possible change.

“I guess we’ll move to a bigger and better place,” said Michelle Jones, owner of Inner Beauty, a store that sells furniture and home decor -- in stark contrast with the rough-looking Quonset hut that houses the store.

An on-site property manager said representatives of Pacific Mesa Properties were not available for comment Friday. A report sent by Costa Mesa planning staffers to City Council members shows a proposal to build a 85,000- to 102,000-square-foot home improvement store with an additional 32,000 square feet dedicated to a garden center. The proposed store is projected to cause an increase in traffic around the area, and Bever said figuring out how to solve any traffic problems would likely be an important consideration if the property owners seek permission to build a new store.

There is no set timeline for the proposal to move forward, and Costa Mesa principal planner Kimberly Brandt said city staffers have not yet received detailed plans from Pacific Mesa Properties.

On the council, Bever has supported proposals to encourage residential development on the Westside. The planning department’s analysis stated the proposed store could serve possible residents who may one day make their homes on the Westside. Bever said he does not view this proposal as part of a plan to change the balance of industrial and commercial business on the Westside, but he said he thinks the city should give business owners a chance with any reasonable proposals they may have.

“I’m a free market guy. If you’ve got a willing buyer and a willing seller, I’m all for it,” he said.

* ANDREW EDWARDS covers business and the environment. He can be reached at (714) 966-4624 or by e-mail at [email protected].

20051210ir9coxkn(LA)Above, Michelle James, proprietor of Inner Beauty Design, works inside her Quonset hut turned boutique. James has rented a hut for 8 years. Top left, the huts off 17th Street may be removed to make way for a retailer. 20051210ir9cogknPHOTOS BY COURTENAY NEARBURG / DAILY PILOT(LA)Above, Michelle James, proprietor of Inner Beauty Design, works inside her Quonset hut turned boutique. James has rented a hut for 8 years. Top left, the huts off 17th Street may be removed to make way for a retailer.