Huntington Beach Planning Commission votes to approve Bolsa Chica senior housing
The Huntington Beach Planning Commission narrowly voted to move the modified Bolsa Chica Senior Care Community forward on Tuesday night.
The Planning Commission voted 4-3 to approve a revised environmental impact report and zoning changes related to the four-story building, which would be built at the southwest corner of Bolsa Chica Street and Warner Avenue. Commissioners Kayla Acosta-Galvan, Oscar Rodriguez, Ian Adam and Rick Wood voted to approve, while Chairman Butch Twining, Vice-Chair Don Kennedy and Commissioner Tracy Pellman voted against.
Real estate developer Hines and Clearwater Living downsized the project a bit since it was first introduced last year, citing community feedback. It was reduced from five stories to four, for a total height of 49.5 feet — under the current code requirement of 50 feet.
The approximately 3.1-acre project would have 159 units, fewer than the 202 previously planned, and independent living units were eliminated entirely. The complex would now house only assisted living and memory care residents.
“If this thing moves forward, I’ll be impacted by the construction,” Commissioner Adam said. “I have to get to my kid’s school there. Every single day, I go through that intersection. I’m still going to be supporting the project. I think it’s the right thing. We need senior housing.”
The project went before the City Council last December after the previous iteration was approved by a 6-1 Planning Commission vote, but it was pulled by the developer.
Detractors of the project cited traffic concerns as well as its scope, albeit reduced, that they felt could alter the feel of the community.
Acosta-Galvan said she didn’t fully agree with the traffic concerns.
“There are going to be less car trips, less traffic, because a senior living facility just doesn’t generate as much traffic as a bunch of stores,” she said.
The land use designation would be changed from general commercial to mixed use, while the zoning would be changed from general commercial to a Bolsa Chica Senior Care Community Specific Plan.
“I think we want to stay clear of beating up on specific plans,” Adam said. “They are legal in California. They’ve created some of the greatest communities in the city of Huntington Beach, including Brightwater.”
Not all of his colleagues agreed.
“The General Land Use Plan was put into effect in 2017, and there was foresight and a lot of thought put into it,” Kennedy said. “I believe we need to conform ... If you continue to bend, they continue to ask for more. As they say, what you allow, you encourage, and I just can’t get behind that.”
Twining, who like Kennedy is running for City Council this November, commended the developer for working to find a middle ground.
“I really believe that they’ve tried to reach a kind of compromise,” he said. “Unfortunately, I still think personally that they might have fallen, with me at least, just a little bit short ... I think that a senior living facility there would be fantastic, I just think that you need to trim it a little bit more.”
Kennedy then called for Rodriguez, who recently bought a new home in Santa Ana, to recuse himself from votes as he moves to his new city. He said that Rodriguez no longer had a vested interest in Huntington Beach, from his standpoint.
Rodriguez responded that he was still a resident of Huntington Beach and that he would not recuse himself.
“I’m going to go home tonight, if you want to come follow me, and sleep in my bedroom [in HB],” Rodriguez said to Kennedy. “Ultimately, I’m going to vote on this whether you like it or not ... I’m still here, sir.”
The current iteration of the Bolsa Chica Senior Care Community will next go to the City Council for approval.
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