Commentary: Development at Beach, Atlanta left neighbors with noise problems

With all the ongoing citizen opposition to overdevelopment in Huntington Beach, I would like to voice my community’s outrage as to what has taken place in our neighborhood, Surfside Homes by the Sea, as a result of the poorly planned and developer-influenced Beach Boulevard and Atlanta Avenue project.

As most of us know, the city considers this development the gold standard of success, and while it is not a high-density project, it has had a devastating effect on our homes. When the project was approved, no consideration was given to the longtime homeowners, and the developer was permitted to build a Walmart grocery store and expand Big Lots, Domino’s and Mama’s 39 without any noise abatement provisions.

This means that unlike any other grocery store, there is no sound wall, no loading well, no covered unloading dock and every truck that arrives is required to back up along a single entry way, then make a sharp turn that, on many occasions, requires two to three attempts.

While this is taking place, all day, every day, back-up alarms are blaring and forklifts are running, adding to all the unchecked noise. In our neighborhood, it is not unusual to be awoken at 4 a.m. by arriving vehicles. And that is just a small sample of how we begin our day.

Parking overflow from the center has overloaded our streets. The back side of Big Lots, which faces us, is in desperate need of paint. There is a 24-hour-a-day roar from huge uncovered compressors and refrigeration units, homeless have taken up residence and Beach Boulevard and Atlanta Avenue are now an afternoon parking lot, which will be getting much worse when the gigantic Pacific City Apartment overdevelopment is completed.

The city’s response to our endless complaints, “If you think there is a violation, call the police.” As a result, the police are faced with angry citizens who they can’t possibly assist.

KARL FEES lives in Huntington Beach.