Downtown Huntington Beach is something very unique and very special. It is the heartbeat of our town. It contains many different kinds of businesses that attract both residents and visitors alike. The plans for Downtown have undergone a series of dramatic shifts over the years, some better than others. The 1990's plan known as the "Village Concept" was a winning plan. It allowed plenty of room for visitor serving businesses, provided options for fairly dense development and gave the flexibility to provide more residential serving uses the further up Main Street you go. This past year the City Council authorized the Economic Development & Planning Departments to undertake a very costly revision to the "Village Concept" plan and create a new Downtown Specific Plan (DTSP). It was passed, then amended by he Council and is currently awaiting a hearing before the Costal Commission which must also sign off on the plan.

The new plan activated the residents of Downtown and sparked the creation of several resident groups to opposed various components of the plan. Some of the issues were parking, traffic, preservation of the Main Street Library, density and adequacy of the Environmental Impact Report. Since the passage by the Council of the DTSP there have even been ongoing conversations about bars, entertainment permits & residential parking.

So here is where I stand on these issues.

• The "Village Concept" was the right idea. We should return the DTSP to the Council and amend the plan to return to the "Village Concept"
• The density allowed will be out of scale with the rest of Downtown and will create too many problems. The density should be looked at on a block by block basis and not at the zone level. This would allow a greater density on the third block of Main Street without also allowing it on small parcels or further off Main Street.
• Traffic & Parking are two of the biggest issues Downtown. The City needs to provide parking for all new projects, and needs to find ways to provide the phantom "In Lieu" parking that exists in Downtown.
• Bars & rowdy behavior have become the norm on Main Street. The future of Downtown will rise or fall based on the City's ability to reign in this atmosphere. The police have come a long way towards solution with their entertainment permit reforms, but we need to keep pushing forward with enforcement, a cap on additional liquor licenses in the Downtown. We have enough bars.
• Residential parking is a part of a complete solution to the issues in Downtown, but it needs to be a program easy for residents to use & understand. It should not cost the residents an annual fee. It should be accompanied by strong enforcement by the police.

What do you think? What are your ideas for Downtown? I would love to hear them... This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it !