Huntington Beach City Council delays decision on ‘Surf City Lights’

The Huntington Beach City Council on Monday night delayed a vote on approving closure of a block of Main Street for outdoor commerce.

The agenda item proposed closing the second block of Main Street downtown, between Walnut and Olive avenues, to automobiles. Seven decks also known as “parklets” would temporarily be constructed for outdoor dining and commerce, as the city continues reopening after restrictions were put in place to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. Social-distancing requirements limit indoor dining to 50% capacity.

Huntington Beach has worked with Choura Events, which developed a similar program in Laguna Beach that opened Monday, on the proposed project, tentatively called “Surf City Lights.” It would potentially run through Labor Day and cost no more than $175,000, said Ursula Luna-Reynosa, Huntington Beach’s director of community development who presented the proposal.

Funding would be supported through the COVID-19 Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

“If we approve this, what we end up with is a sense of place, more of a destination,” City Councilman Mike Posey said. “The longer people are there, the more money they’ll spend. If they have dinner, they’ll stay for ice cream. If they stay for ice cream, they’ll buy a swimsuit or whatever.”

However, City Council members unanimously voted to table the proposal until another meeting could be set up with the Huntington Beach Downtown Business Improvement District by June 30. Luna-Reynosa said that city staff has worked with both Choura and BID leadership, but a letter dated June 12 had signatures of several business owners in the proposed area who opposed the parklets.

“The parklets really are beautiful, and I think they would enhance that second block of Main Street,” City Councilwoman Kim Carr said. “But I don’t own a business downtown, and we’ve heard from these businesses downtown that they don’t want it. I don’t think it’s right for us to impose something on them that they don’t want. I really feel that there needs to be a meeting of the minds, because I think that we could address so many of the concerns that they have, like the cleanliness, like the security.”

Small Business Relief Program approved

The City Council unanimously voted Monday to approve the COVID-19 Small Business Relief Program, which would provide economic support to local businesses impacted by the pandemic. Huntington Beach has more than $4.7 million available to small businesses through the CARES Act.

Eligible businesses must meet at least one of the following four criteria: deemed nonessential and forced to close, sales down more than 25% over the previous three months, laid off at least one employee and/or at least one employee has contracted the coronavirus while at work.

Businesses must be independently owned, with 30 or fewer full-time employees. Each eligible business will receive a grant of up to $5,000 to $10,000, depending on the number of employees.

The program will be administered by the Orange County Small Business Development Center.

Council reaffirms Declaration of Policy About Human Dignity

The City Council unanimously voted to reaffirm the Declaration of Policy About Human Dignity, which was originally adopted in 1996 and last reaffirmed in 2017.

Carr introduced the agenda item, saying she felt it was a good time to bring it up in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death on May 25 and ensuing protests.

“This document is trying to say that we’re all in this together,” Carr said. “We are a welcoming city, and we need to shout that out loud. If this helps, I think that is something that we need to be a part of.”

Huntington Beach has been home to numerous protests since Floyd’s death, including one on Sunday.

The declaration states that “everyone should be treated with courtesy and respect, regardless of their racial background, their nation of origin, the religion they practice, their sexual orientation, gender or disability status.” It also states that the city will fight against hate crimes with all of the resources at its disposal.

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