Costco called too risky

Golden West College’s president said a controversial proposal to build a Costco on 14 acres of college land just has too many drawbacks. Rather than accept a $2 million deal that local residents have denounced, he suggested the board look into projects about half that size for uses like student or faculty housing, or possibly new classrooms.

College President Wes Bryan announced Dec. 6 that he would recommend the Coast Community College District board reject the proposal, and the board met Wednesday evening to hear his findings. Final results of the vote were not available by time of publication, but Bryan’s recommendation was widely expected to kill the proposal.

“A 14-acre single-tenant retail development on the Golden West campus is not sustainable,” he wrote to board members. “It is simply too large of a facility.”

Other reasons he cited for rejecting the deal include: possible risks from nearby high-tension power lines, an increase in traffic on a congested street, a negative effect on local small businesses, and a location too close to a new child development center already under construction.

The three-way arrangement with Costco and the city of Huntington Beach would have the retailer pay the college to move onto its land, while the city would make up for some of the loss of space with affordable student housing on the edge of campus.

Supporters said the deal would bring jobs to the area and help fund the city and the college, while giving shoppers a popular discount store.

But it came under fire from local residents, who feared both the Costco and the housing project were too much for an area with several proposed developments nearby. The Westminster City Council also came out against the plan.

“In all honesty I think the college was selling off too much,” said Robert Sternberg, who has spoken at multiple meetings against the deal and lives half a mile away. “Reasonable people reached a reasonable conclusion and said, ‘Thanks, but no thanks.’”

City Director of Economic Development Stanley Smalewitz said he was disappointed college staff came out against the proposal and felt the issues raised by the public could have been fixed as negotiations continued. But he said the city would keep trying to find a place for Costco within city limits.

“Costco has expressed a desire to be here,” he said. “This is the city they want to be in for this area. We will try to do everything we can to help them identify a site or facilitate that process.”