H.B. Planning Commission approves use of Magnolia Tank Farm site for car dealership storage

Huntington Beach planning commissioners Tuesday night approved a plan to store about 2,000 new vehicles on the Magnolia Tank Farm property.

The Planning Commission voted 6-0 to greenlight the proposal, with member Brendon Perkins absent.

The agreement gives the Huntington Beach Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram dealership the go-ahead to store the vehicles on a portion of the vacant 29-acre site known as the Magnolia Tank Farm at 21845 Magnolia St.

The site was previously graded for storage of equipment related to AES’ power plant project, city staff said.

The tank farm once served as an oil storage and pumping facility. Irvine-based Shopoff Realty Investments hopes to redevelop the property with up to 250 for-sale residential units and a 230,000-square-foot “eco-lodge,” along with public parking and retail and dining facilities.

Many community members have protested the potential project out of fear that its construction could dislodge substances that would expose residents of southeast Huntington Beach to hazardous chemicals and pollutants.

In December, the City Council canceled a public hearing on entitlements for the development to grant Shopoff’s request for more time to “continue to address and be responsive to the community’s ongoing concerns.”

The Planning Commission approved a conditional use permit for the vehicle storage with two conditions — that the hours of operation be restricted to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Sundays. Vehicle transport would be allowed only between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays, with no activity on federal holidays.

The lot will house only new vehicles and be unstaffed except when cars are delivered and retrieved.

The site will have two entrances secured with automatic gates and will have 24-hour security cameras and infrared sensors. There will be no lights onsite, and cameras would be allowed to record only within the premises.

All vehicles will be transported via Pacific Coast Highway and Beach Boulevard, and the primary entrance will be on Banning Street, city staff said.

“These are very quiet businesses,” Mike Adams, a representative of applicant Ethan Edwards of Esquared Planning, told the commission during a public hearing. “It’s not like 2,000 cars are going in and out a day.”

On a busy day, the dealership sells about 20 vehicles, Adams said.

“I think this will be a low-impact use for this property until we figure out what we are going to do with it in the end,” Commissioner Dan Kalmick said.

The Magnolia Tank Farm development “isn’t going to be approved for a long time,” Commissioner John Scandura said, affirming his support for the storage while the project remains in the permitting process. “In the meantime, we have a large vacant piece of property.”

The agreement is good for two years and can be renewed thereafter.

“Car dealers represent, collectively, the single largest source of revenue for the city ... so certainly it’s in our interest to support the car dealers,” Scandura said. “Having said that, we know this site has tremendous sensitivity ... so whatever we can do to allay the concerns about the dust ... that would be a priority.”

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