City wins a legal pause in battle over corridor specific plan

Huntington Beach can go back to a housing amendment created last year to slow the rate of high-density development in an area of the city after an appellate court this week negated, for now, an April judicial decision.

The amendment altered the city’s Beach Edinger Corridor Specific Plan, which was adopted in 2010 to revitalize Beach Boulevard and Edinger Avenue, the city’s two major streets, by streamlining the approval process for development projects. The original plan, allowing 4,500 residential units in the area, is tied to Huntington Beach’s state-mandate housing element, general guidelines for addressing housing needs for all economic segments as the community grows.

Last year’s amendment changed the cap to 2,100 units and imposed stricter height and setback requirements after many residents complained about the high rate at which high-density residential projects were popping up.

The Court of Appeal on Thursday granted the city’s request for a stay, freezing a ruling by the Los Angeles County Superior Court in April that the city to go back to its original Beach Edinger Corridor Specific Plan.

Huntington Beach’s legal troubles started in November, when the nonprofit Kennedy Commission won a lawsuit it filed in July against the city claiming the reduction in units — through the amendment — rendered the housing element noncompliant with state directives on what constitutes adequate housing for people with low incomes.

The city appealed that court’s judgment in January and asked for a stay of the ruling so that Huntington Beach could continue to follow the corridor plan amendment until an appeals hearing later this year.

City Atty. Michael Gates said a Superior Court judge in April suggested the requested stay was never in effect, and Gates decided to bring the case to the Court of Appeal.

The higher court ended up confirming the stay, making it possible for the city to continue with its Beach Edinger Corridor Specific Plan amendment, at least for now.

Gates considers this a win for the city.

“This reinforces the effectiveness of the [amendment] until the appeal can be heard in the next few months,” Gates said.

The Court of Appeal will decide later this year if Huntington Beach can continue with the amendment plan.