Kids can march again on Fourth of July

The City Council on Monday announced that after much consideration, it has decided to temporarily lift rules excluding children younger than 9 from the city’s Fourth of July main parade.

This would allow several groups, including Girl Scouts, Indian Guides and Indian Princesses, to be an active part of this year’s parade. Officials said they would also allow face-painting, which was a top concern for many participating children.

The Fourth of July parade has been a Huntington Beach tradition for decades. For the past few years, groups including families of younger children have been walking in the pre-parade.

This year, the city decided to cancel the pre-parade in an effort to shorten the extended hours of celebration, without mentioning inclusion of younger children and face-painting in the main parade.

On Monday night, nearly 100 members of the YMCA Guides and Princesses came dressed in their patched, beaded jackets and feathered headdresses to plead city officials not to exclude young members of their groups from walking in the main parade.

“Walking in the parade is our family’s thing,” said Kevin Smith, resident and father of an Indian Princess. “We have been doing this for the past 15 years.”

Councilman Don Hansen assured the groups that cutting the pre-parade was in no way an effort to discourage younger participants, and that it was done merely in order to save time.

He also said that although the rules have been lifted temporarily, the city would find a way to include younger children and activities like face-painting in the parade for the years to come.

Parade organizers offered to help the council in making sure that members moved along at a good speed and did not hold it behind.

Also Monday night, the city passed a motion to allow the expansion and refurbishment of a strip mall on Beach Boulevard and Atlanta Avenue. Neighboring residents spoke in favor of this redevelopment, stating that the mall is one of the first sites while entering the city from the west and so it needs a better look.

Also, the current single entry into the mall has been thought to cause accidents and unnecessary traffic. The new plans will include adding 70 parking spaces and an additional entry into the strip mall.

Later at Monday’s meeting, resident Margaret Tracy expressed disapproval to city officials regarding moving the controversial T-Mobile cell tower from Harbour View Park to Bolsa View Park. The tower has caused much hue and cry in the past weeks due to residents’ concern of getting cancer due to exposure to it. City officials are finding a better place to put it after having shifted it from Harbour View.