Huntington Beach Planning Commission takes a look at proposed senior-living project

Seniors in Huntington Beach could have a new option to call home, as the community continues to age.

The Huntington Beach Planning Commission held a study session Tuesday night regarding the proposed Bolsa Chica Senior Living Community project, which would rise on the southwest corner of Bolsa Chica Street and Warner Avenue.

The five-story project would accommodate 202 total units, project planner Hayden Beckman said in a presentation. As proposed, it would include 102 independent living units, 72 assisted living units and 28 memory care units.

An underground parking garage with 189 spaces would be built, and various indoor and outdoor amenities include dining facilities with alcohol service would be among its offerings.

The 3.1-acre site currently holds two commercial buildings. The surrounding area includes retail property, apartments and condominiums.

Zoning amendments required by the project would include the creation of the Bolsa Chica Senior Living Community Specific Plan, the 19th adopted specific plan in the city. This would create a maximum building height of 65 feet instead of 50 feet, among other changes.

Applicants Tom Lawless with real estate developer Hines and Christopher Hilbert with Clearwater Living addressed the Planning Commission.

“We bring an institutional know-how, but a local understanding,” Lawless said. “We both live here locally, and it’s our intention to build a community that really allows seniors to age in place in their own city, providing a continuum of care from independent living through memory care.”

The proposed site plan for the Bolsa Chica Senior Living project.

(Courtesy of city of Huntington Beach)

A full quarter of Huntington Beach’s population is 60 or older, Lawless said, and the senior population both nationally and locally is expected to double over the next 20 years.

Commissioner Don Kennedy had the most questions and seemed most skeptical about the project.

He asked about the proposed costs for each unit, which could be about $5,000 a month.

“The residents that would move into those units are not vacating homes that the youth are going to be buying,” Kennedy said. “That’s a fact.”

“We don’t even know how much it’s going to cost to build this building yet,” Lawless responded, before adding that “back of the envelope” costs were estimated at least $100 million to build the property.

Kennedy cited Huntington Beach Municipal Code 230.72, which states that certain items like chimneys, towers or flag poles can exceed the maximum zoning height by up to 10 feet.

“You could conceivably be at 75 feet, plus equipment,” he said. “That sets a terrible precedent for the people in Huntington Beach, in my opinion ... Surf City, we love our seniors. But to set a precedent that you can go out and change land use, put 65-, 70-feet worth of building up on these corners because you have the money to do so, it kind of flies in the face of what I believe Huntington Beach is all about.”

Lawless responded that the height of the building was to try to provide as many amenities as possible, with the first floor solely dedicated to them.

Commissioner Ian Adam said he lived in the area and walked his dog by the property often. He suggested having shift changes for employees at off-peak hours, to limit any increased traffic concerns.

The lone public speaker at Tuesday’s meeting, Brian Thienes, said he lives south of the proposed development. He questioned the scope of it.

“There are three-story condos across the street, but they step up and they’re set way back and there was a lot of thought that went into the process of deciding what fits the neighborhood,” Thienes said. “I’m looking at these plans thinking, ‘This is like a skyscraper’ ... It’s just too big.”