Huntington council delays vote on general plan update but approves EIR

The Huntington Beach City Council on Monday night delayed voting on an update to the city’s general plan until its next meeting.

The council did vote unanimously to approve the associated environmental impact report, which addresses potential adverse environmental effects of the update’s implementation. It delves into air quality, biological and cultural resources and noise, among other issues.

The general plan update will guide the city’s development decisions through 2040. It’s been in the making since the council voted in 2013 to hire planning consulting firm Michael Baker International to assist.

The document wound its way through the Planning Commission for months, and commissioners unanimously recommended it Aug. 15. But the council unanimously decided to delay its vote until its Oct. 2 meeting so City Attorney Michael Gates could better analyze it.

Councilman Erik Peterson said he wants Gates to look into how the plan could be affected by state Senate Bill 35, which would ease local development restrictions to encourage homebuilding efforts. It was passed by the Assembly on Thursday.

Councilman Billy O’Connell said Gates should go through the plan with a “fine-toothed comb.�

California cities are required to have general plans and update them at regular intervals. Huntington Beach’s general plan hasn’t been comprehensively updated since 1996.

The 1996 general plan forecast a total of 86,499 residential units in the city through 2040. The new update projects 85,403 units through 2040.

The update also includes a new land-use designation — research and technology — intended to help fuel job and economic growth. The designation would allow for industrial and commercial uses that aren’t accommodated in the current commercial or industrial areas.

Mayor Pro Tem Mike Posey expressed concern that the city’s industrial enterprises could be compromised by the new zoning designation. But planning manager Jennifer Villasenor said there would still be a substantial amount of industrial zones in the city. Furthermore, she said, the research and technology designation would allow industrial businesses to transform themselves.

According to a city staff report about the environmental impact report, most negative effects of the general plan update can be mitigated through policies proposed in the plan. But some changes that would impact air quality, cultural resources, the water supply, noise and greenhouse gas emissions are “significant and unavoidable,� the report says.

Villasenor said the city takes a conservative approach, deeming an issue significant and unavoidable if it can’t determine the particulars of a future project. The city can’t know the specifics of projects that have yet to be proposed, she said.

Some of the “significant and unavoidable� impacts are byproducts of natural city growth, such as potential increased noise from more people driving on the roads.

CFO is appointed assistant city manager

The council voted unanimously to appoint city Chief Financial Officer Lori Ann Farrell-Harrison as the new assistant city manager.

“She’s done a great job for the city, and I’m excited she’s moving into a new role,� City Manager Fred Wilson said. “I have 100% confidence in her abilities to be very effective.�

Farrell-Harrison, 49, has served as CFO the past seven years, overseeing the city’s annual budget.

“This is an incredible city,� Farrell-Harrison said. “Even though we are a full-service city, it really has a hometown and intimate feel.�

The assistant city manager position has been vacant since Ken Domer left in late July to become Fullerton’s city manager.

Farrell-Harrison is expected to make $221,145 a year, about a 5% increase from her current salary, according to a city staff report.

Before becoming CFO in 2010, Farrell-Harrison worked for the city of Long Beach.

She has 26 years’ experience in government and the private sector and holds a bachelor’s degree from Barnard College of Columbia University and a master’s in public administration from Columbia’s School of International and Public Affairs.

Farrell-Harrison said the city will soon start the recruitment process to fill the CFO position.

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