2005: Another criminal exits City Hall; Poseidon stirs seas

1) Pam Houchen pleads guilty to fraud

After months of speculation about her involvement in a Huntington Beach real estate scam, former mayor Pam Houchen in September pleaded guilty to eight counts of wire and mail fraud. Houchen joined four other defendants in the case who pleaded guilty to charges that they illegally converted apartments into condominiums without the proper permits and then sold them to unsuspecting buyers.

Months later, two other investors were convicted of participating in the scam, which involved falsifying documents, fraudulent notarizations and payoffs to a title insurance officer to approve the deals. In addition to the phony condo conversions, Houchen was charged with illegally purchasing property in a city-sponsored redevelopment area and selling it for profit.

The episode jolted City Hall, which was still reeling from a scandal involving previous mayor Dave Garofalo, who pleaded guilty to 15 misdemeanor and one felony count of corruption in 2002.

Houchen and the other defendants will be sentenced on Feb. 6 by U.S. District Judge David Carter. Houchen, recently divorced and the mother of toddler triplets, faces up to five years in prison for her involvement in the scandal.

2) Poseidon plant riles waters

No other issue in 2005 took up as much time -- city worker and volunteer -- as the proposed Poseidon desalination plant.

At $250 million, the plant, which if approved would be built behind the AES power plant, would been a boon to the city’s economy, proponents say. It also would provide a safeguard if the county’s water use hits a critical point.

Opponents question the need for the plant and just how environmentally destructive it might be. But their main argument just might be: Enough. The southeast part of Huntington Beach, they say, already suffers its share of industrial burdens.

The City Council is scheduled to vote on the proposal on Jan. 9 -- but there is no reason to think that decision will be an ending to the story.

3) Remaining Bolsa wetlands sold as state launches restoration effort

2005 was a big year for the Bolsa Chica wetlands. A coalition of federal and state agencies has begun a multimillion-dollar restoration of more than 1,200 acres of wetlands in a massive public-works project that will reconnect the wetlands with the ocean by lifting Pacific Coast Highway and eventually removing all the oil extraction equipment.

It was also the year that developer Hearthside Homes was given the green light by the Coastal Commission to build 349 homes on the upper mesa. In December, the city voted to annex that tract into city limits on the condition that Hearthside pay $8 million in fees. That’s about $1.5 million more than they wanted to pay, said company Vice President Ed Mountford, who is still weighing his options on what to do next. In the meantime, Hearthside’s shareholders have approved the sale of the lower bench of the wetlands to the state Wildlife Conservation Board for $65 million. The Bolsa Chica Land Trust, the environmental group who fought to save the property, will help restore the lower bench to its native condition.

4) ‘Surf City’ wars bring new meaning to localism

Consider it one of Huntington Beach’s greatest accidental publicity stunts: the battle between Santa Cruz and Huntington Beach over which is the true Surf City, U.S.A. Is it Santa Cruz, which has its famous point breaks and is home to Jack O’Neil, inventor of the wetsuit; or is it Huntington Beach, with its Southern California coastline, dozens of beach breaks and concentration of surfing industry giants?

The international media has been enamored with this cross-state rivalry, which was reignited last December when Conference and Visitor’s Bureau CEO Doug Traub launched a marketing campaign to sell Huntington Beach as “Surf City U.S.A.” and copyright the name.

The move sparked an outcry from Santa Cruz, which threatened to sue over the proposal and protest the trademark application. Santa Cruz’s state Sen. Joe Simitian got involved and introduced legislation recognizing Santa Cruz as Surf City; Assemblyman Tom Harman of Huntington Beach eventually persuaded Simitian to kill the legislation.

Earlier this month, a group of bikers announced they were leading a peace ride from Huntington Beach to Santa Cruz. Their ride won’t likely generate the buzz the Surf City battle has; nearly every major newspaper in the world picked up the story, generating tons more publicity than Traub and others could have expected with their marketing campaign.

5) Bella Terra opens doors

After years of delays, political infighting and plenty of waiting, waiting, waiting, Bella Terra officially opened its doors in November, just in time to catch the Christmas shopping crowds.

Anchored by a 20-screen Century movie theater, REI, Kohl’s and Burlington Coat Factory, the new Tuscan-themed shopping center with its grand amphitheater and odd statues is a stark departure from the dilapidated mall that sat at the corner of Beach Boulevard and Edinger Avenue for decades. Hundreds of people showed up for the theater’s grand opening, waiting anxiously as fire officials performed the final checks before allowing anyone to enter.

While the new mall will generate millions in sales tax revenue, it almost cost Planning Director Howard Zelefsky his job. Months before the new theater opened, developer J.H. Snyder sold the mall to San Jose-based DJM partners. During the deal, city officials reportedly tried to back out of a proposal to repay J.H. Synder a portion of sales tax generated by the mall. Zelefsky got involved, and when the smoke finally cleared, the city caved in to J.H. Snyder’s demands and Zelefsky was placed on administrative leave. He was soon reinstated.

6) Neighbors rally to save field

When the Fountain Valley School District announced it was planning to put a popular park space up for sale, Alan Gandall decided it was time to spring into action.

Gandall and others had never worked on a political campaign before, but within weeks the volunteers were raising money, creating a website and rallying the community around their efforts to save the old Wardlow School site from being developed into houses.

The school site was home to the Huntington Valley Little League and the Boys and Girls Club and one of the last remaining recreation spaces in southeast Huntington Beach. Eventually the city got involved and tried to save a large portion of the parkland in exchange for a promise to help the school district through the permitting process. When the council rejected the school district’s initial offer, talks were cut off and the city eventually agreed to purchase six acres of park space. Gandall and his Save Our Field organization called the purchase a great success.

7) Ascon-Nesi cleanup underway

Cleanup crews are wrapping up an emergency repair on a southeast Huntington Beach toxic waste dump, giving residents a preview of an eventual long-term cleanup of the site.

Last winter’s rains pushed the five toxic lagoons on the site to near capacity, causing officials with the state Department of Toxic Substances Control to worry that the hazardous materials dumped there might break the landfill’s levees and spill into streets and storm drains.

Known as the Ascon-Nesi landfill, the toxic site is across the street from one of the city’s biggest parks and Edison High School. Many residents said they’re glad to see the berms fortified but are concerned about the recent occurrence of strong odors coming from the site.

Toxic substance officials said they plan to begin work with the operators of the site for a long-term cleanup of the landfill.

8) Kettler School closes its doors

It’s a story that happens every so often, when there just aren’t enough kids around: a school closes, its students sent to new campuses to learn their way around new hallways and meet new people.

In 2005, it was former students of Kettler Elementary walking unfamiliar halls.

In March, the Huntington Beach City School District Board of Trustees voted to shut the school because of declining enrollment and as part of $2 million in cost-cutting it needed to do.

“This is a tough evening for all of us, and it’s a very disappointing evening for me,” then-interim Supt. Duane Dishno said at the board meeting.

The day after the meeting, the campus felt more like a funeral, Principal Olivia Gaddini said.

In the fall, Kettler’s students went back to school, only this time at Smith, Eader and Peterson.

9) Clark Foam’s demise a sea change for surf industry

It was a major bummer when blanks manufacturer Clark Foam closed up shop in early December, cutting most of the surfing industry off from its supply chain. Shapers and glassers found themselves with no materials to work with, while surf shops promptly raised all their prices.

The shock hurt hundreds of small businesses in the industry, but it also ended a virtual monopoly on foam manufacturing that had made Clark Foam founder Gordon “Grubbie” Clark one of the most powerful men in the surfing industry.

10) City launches adopt-a-Marine program

In March, the Huntington Beach City Council voted unanimously to adopt the 3rd Battalion 1st Marines, commonly referred to as the “3/1” or “Thundering Third,” out of Camp Pendleton.

Huntington Beach officials oversee the local initiative, which pools private donations into a special nonprofit fund. The money has gone to such projects as helping the wife of a Marine get her car fixed or make a rent payment. Officials with the program also plan to set up a network to send care packages to Marines overseas and their spouses at home. Huntington Beach also honored the battalion with a special dinner at the Hyatt Hotel in April and a spot on the annual Fourth of July parade.20051229ignuuykf(LA)M20051229i8qre7kfNo Caption20051229irgs0tkn(LA)20051229ifktnlkf(LA)C20051229inv0ujkn(LA)20051229ii3a8bkn(LA)20051229imf57incINDEPENDENT STAFF(LA)Above, Thomas Kurzawinski takes chalk in hand to express his feelings about the closure of Kettler Elementary. Left, top to bottom: Kim Kolpin, co-director of the Bolsa Chica Stewards, waters a plant on the mesa; Cpl. Lee of San Jose plays the piano in the lobby outside the Grand Ballroom of the Hyatt Hotel in Huntington Beach before a banquet for the 3rd Battalion 1st Marines from Camp Pendleton; Bella Terra Mall developer John Miller discusses the architecture and design of the mall.