Residents plan rally against downtown changes

Another group of residents bent against the Downtown Specific Plan update is going to make its voice heard at a rally at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Pier Plaza Amphitheater.

The Huntington Beach Residents for A Balanced Downtown formed less than two weeks ago to combat not only the proposed cultural center in Triangle Park, but the update as a whole. The residents are taking issue with the plan’s proposal to put two tiered parking structures on the beach, increase development and allow more bars and restaurants in the downtown, said Richard Plummer , leader of the Residents for A Balanced Downtown.

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.

The parking structures would help accommodate future parking demands as development increases. The structures wouldn’t be seen when looking out to the beach, said Erik Justesen, the city’s design consultant with RRM Design, in one of the city’s study sessions.

“The parking would be essentially screened from view on PCH and tucked under,” Justesen has said.

Plummer agrees the structures wouldn’t block the view of the horizon from the street, but looking out onto the beach from an angle, the structures would block the view. Plummer said he is “dead against” the proposed structures.

“My concern is any construction on the beach side of Pacific Coast Highway that would take way from the crown jewel — the beach,” said Dennis Austin, a member of the Residents for A Balanced Downtown.

The group is also taking issue with the increase in development the update will allow. Plummer said the members want to retain the area’s “village concept.”

“We’re trying to keep this as a village concept, not an international destination,” Plummer said. “What is an international destination is the beach and the water, not the downtown.”

The increase in building heights and in restaurants downtown is also a point of contention, Austin said. The update will allow an additional 92,332 square feet of restaurants, 213,467 square feet of retail space and 235 new hotel rooms, according to the plan.

“There’s a point where you try to keep it balanced. There is a lot there already,” he said.

There is already a residents’ group against the Downtown Specific Plan. The Huntington Beach Downtown Residents Assn. is devoted to stopping the destruction of Triangle Park and the demolition of the Main Street Library to put a cultural center in its place and has over 6,000 signatures on a petition against the project.

Plummer said he has been working with the association’s spokesman, Kim Kramer, but wants to focus on more than the one issue. The residents started a website to get the word out. Although the group is new to the game, Plummer said the site has already gotten hundreds of hits.

“We’re just starting late and just trying to get the word out before the Oct. 6 planning meeting,” Plummer said.

The Planning Commission is holding a public hearing for the changes to the plan and its Environmental Impact Report at 6 p.m. Oct. 6 in Council Chambers at the Civic Center on Main Street.

To visit the website, go to www.hbr4bdt.com.