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Huntington Beach scraps latest plan for low-income housing
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Construction is ongoing in an area with lots of shopping just off the 405 Freeway along Edinger Avenue in Huntington Beach. Nearby at Edinger Avenue and Beach Boulevard, a site was proposed for new affordable housing units.
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Ashley Bailey/KPCC
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The Huntington Beach City Council is trying to balance a state mandate for more affordable housing while maintaining the identity of "Surf City U.S.A."
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Ashley Bailey/KPCC
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Writer Sean Berry lives near the one of the recent proposed sites for affordable units in the Beach Boulevard and Edinger Avenue area of Huntington Beach. He says adding more affordable housing to the area is an issue that can’t wait.
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Ashley Bailey/KPCC
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The city of Huntington Beach is at a standstill with the state over a lack of affordable housing in the city.
On Monday night, the city council rejected the latest plan to allow developers to build more affordable units at several sites. If the plan had been approved, it would have committed the city to rezoning the sites to allow building that would accommodate the shortfall.
Councilman Erik Peterson said residents don't want to change the identity of Surf City USA.
"We have a suburban beach community, a tourist destination, and they want to turn it into an urban environment," he said. Building up, he said, would change the look and feel of the city. Residents, he said, have consistently told him they're against density.
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Orange County consistently ranks among the least affordable housing and rental markets in the country.
In the case of Huntington Beach, the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) said it needs 410 more units of low-income housing to comply with state law.
Some residents agree the city has become unaffordable.
Sean Berry was enjoying coffee Tuesday near one of the proposed affordable housing sites by Golden West College.
"We have persons like our elderly, our disabled veterans, persons with children that need an opportunity to go to better schools to have a better environment," he said.
The city found that it was out of compliance with state mandates for low-income housing in June 2015.
Melinda Coy, a housing specialist from HCD, said at Monday's city council meeting that the number of low-income units needed is due to increased household growth over a certain period of time. The data is gathered in partnership with the Southern California Association of Governments.
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Coy said funding sources from the state could be withheld if the city doesn't comply.
She said for example, if the city wanted to make improvements for parks and applied for funding, it would lessen its competitiveness for certain programs.
The city council is going back to the drawing board. It has until September to adopt a housing plan that satisfies the state. Peterson said the city will take its own pace in deciding how to grow.
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