Downtown is a key issue at Huntington Beach City Council candidate forums

High-density development, public safety and the condition of downtown were among the hot topics discussed at two Huntington Beach City Council candidate forums this week.

Nine out of ten candidates — Councilwoman Jill Hardy, who is up for reelection; former Mayor Joe Carchio; planning commissioners Lyn Semeta, Edward Pinchiff and Patrick Brenden; businessman Mark Rolfes; financial advisor Ron Sterud; certified public accountant Mariann Ettorre; and student Amory Hanson — spoke at Tuesday’s Chamber of Commerce-sponsored event and Wednesday’s Downtown Business Improvement District forum.

Karen Leighton, a registered nurse, was not present at either forum due to work conflicts.

The chamber forum followed a traditional format in which a moderator asked pre-selected questions to each candidate. At the BID forum, candidates picked a random question out of a bowl to answer.

Candidates were unable to answer questions from the audience at both forums.

High-density development was a prominent issue, with most candidates agreeing that they did not want to allow additional high-density housing.

Semeta said the city needs to maintain its beach suburban character and council members need to listen to the community, where some have been vocal against future high-density development. At the chamber forum, Ettorre said she has noticed a “non-supportive attitude of residents’ needs” overall from the council.

But the beach lifestyle, particularly in the downtown, has brought a handful of problems with it, including intoxication and homelessness, the candidates noted.

“Downtown needs a facelift,” said Rolfes, who considers himself “pro-business development,” regarding the condition of the infrastructure. “We need to do something sooner than later.”

He said the city should develop a “quick-response team” for infrastructure problems.

Hanson said these problems can be remedied by investing in fewer bars downtown and instead installing a performing arts events center to attract different kinds of patrons. He also said he did not support events like the Vans U.S. Open of Surfing, despite the high number of tourists the tournament brings in each year.

“This event has resulted in two riots,” Hanson said. “We are not going to have another riot. We are going to get rid of that event and send it to Santa Cruz. They can have it since they want to be Surf City so much.”

Sterud said short-term rentals downtown pose a challenge to residents. Brenden supported adding more police in the downtown area.

“Downtown is the area that makes the first impression on visitors,” Brenden said. “It’s critical to invest there.”

Ettorre said the city needs to think about the types of businesses it brings in and support current merchants.

Sterud, at the BID forum, supported 1% to 2% of the city’s budget going to the BID to support the downtown area, including for its maintenance.

At the BID forum, Pinchiff was asked if he would support giving the downtown a facelift to boost business following the success of nearby Pacific City, which is reportedly attracting more customer attention than Main Street.

Pinchiff said he’d be careful with spending city money on such an effort and would want to review any plans thoroughly first.

“We need to look at all the needs throughout the city, not just downtown,” he added.

Carchio said business owners should work to better their own establishments to attract more customers, not blame their lagging sales on Pacific City’s success. Regarding the lack of parking downtown, Carchio said the city needs to work with property owners to utilize empty parking spaces.

Hardy said, overall, downtown should be an area where anyone feels welcome and safe.

“We need to make sure downtown is a place all will want to visit, and we need to look at what’s going on late at night,” she said.

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Twitter: @BrittanyWoolsey