California Coastal Commission

Allegations that former Huntington Beach Mayor Keith Bohr should have recused himself from the Downtown Specific Plan because of a conflict of interest were found false by the Fair Political Practices Commission last month. In a letter to Kim Kramer, spokesman for the Huntington Beach Downtown Residents Assn., a member of the group of residents that submitted the allegations, the commission stated Bohr violated no laws. “After review of your complaint and the evidence obtained, we found no violation of the Fair Political Act ... Mr. Bohr sought advice from our legal division concerning his political conflict of interest,” said Roman Porter, executive director of the Fair Political Practices Commission, in a letter to Kramer dated Feb. 10. A group of residents asked the Orange County district attorney and the commission to investigate Bohr in November over the possible conflict of interests . The association believed Bohr should have recused himself from the vote because he would benefit from the plan because he is a principal partner in the real estate development and construction company Team Companies Inc., which had an office downtown and, according to the letter, an interest in three restaurants.

The Planning Commission unanimously approved a plan Tuesday night that will turn a portion of Beach Boulevard and Edinger Avenue into a mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly area and put aside a plot of land for the future expansion of a transit center. The Beach and Edinger Corridors Specific Plan includes a 459-acre area along Beach and Edinger, and along Edinger to Goldenwest Street, excluding Bella Terra. The plan dictates land use and building intensity, guides building design and aesthetics, and allows a mixed-land use zoning to create a more visually pleasing area.

The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing next week to plan out a mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly area with a town center near Beach Boulevard and Edinger Avenue. The Beach and Edinger Corridors Specific Plan includes a 459-acre area along Beach and Edinger, and along Edinger to Goldenwest Street. The plan would dictate land use and building intensity, guide building design and aesthetics, and allow a mixed-land use zoning to create a more visually pleasing area. The commission certified the plan’s Environmental Impact Report at its Dec. 8 meeting, and the plan must gain approval from the commission and City Council and be certified by the California Coastal Commission.

The campaign to restore the Bolsa Chica wetlands and the ongoing battles over development have undergone many twists and turns over the last 10 years. Here are some of the highlights:   November 2000: The California Coastal Commission limits Hearthside Homes’ 1,235-unit residential project, originally slated for 183 acres, to 65 acres in an effort to preserve land. Hearthside and landowner Signal Landmark file a lawsuit, but the Superior Court judge upholds the commission’s decision in 2001.

Huntington Beach granted Calvary Chapel of the Harbour, the only church in Sunset Beach, a conditional use permit to leave its cramped quarters and move to a nearby shopping center. The church, which has operated since 2003 out of the Sunset Beach Women?s Club, received permission from the Planning Commission to move into the space vacated by the Red Onion restaurant in Peter?s Landing Marina, 16400 Pacific Coast Hwy. The property is identified as a commercial visitor zone, and the church needed a permit to operate a religious assembly on the premises.

A group of Huntington Beach residents filed a lawsuit against the city today alleging it broke state environmental laws by approving the Downtown Specific Plan’s Environmental Impact Report. A group of residents called the Huntington Beach Neighbors believe officials violated the California Environmental Quality Act by not adequately analyzing the impacts the plan will have on downtown residents. The plan is a long-range document that dictates building and parking specifications and design guidelines.

This is a story about faith, and not just in one sense. When Calvary Chapel of the Harbour, reputed to be the first church in the history of Sunset Beach, approached the city recently to get a conditional use permit to move to a larger space at Peter’s Landing Marina, it brought to light one of the best kept secrets of coastal Orange County. The church is invisible six days a week and opens its doors Sunday morning not in a towering cathedral, but in a tight room that the owners rent at the Sunset Beach Women’s Club.

Every Sunday morning about 8 a.m., Steve Acosta gathers with a half-dozen friends in a back alley in Sunset Beach and assembles a church from scratch. The worship leader for Calvary Chapel of the Harbour enters the compact space of the Sunset Beach Women’s Club and sets to work opening folding chairs, lugging picnic tables and assembling a sound system for guitars and bass. When the main room is packed with chairs, Acosta and his helpers create another row in the hall for those who show up late.