Fireworks at beach denied

Jenny Marder

Sparks of hope flew through the council chambers but were swiftly

snuffed out Tuesday night when a plan to hold an extravagant

fireworks show at the beach was denied for the second year in a row.

It would have been the largest Fourth of July display on the West

Coast and the second largest in the nation, second only to Manhattan,

said Margie Bunten, chair of the Fourth of July Parade Committee.

“We’ve outgrown the high school and we need to move on to bigger

community events,” said Ron McLin, president of the Huntington Beach

Restaurant Assn. “We need to step forward and make everyone see that

this is a great event.”

The council members who opposed the beach display feared a repeat

of public disturbances.

In the 1990s -- long after the fireworks display had been moved to

the high school because of thick fog at the beach -- holiday

celebrations spun out of control when rowdy drinking led to rioting,

couch burnings, flying bottles and swinging police batons. Arrests

climbed from 40 people in 1993 to 257 in 1994 and peaked at 546 in

1996, when police barricaded streets Downtown to curb the mayhem.

“I think it would be foolish to take the chance,” said Councilman

Dave Sullivan, who likened the proposed event to a huge rock concert

without any controlled entrance. The downside, he added, was the

negative attention from the press in the years during and after the

riots.

Councilwoman Connie Boardman questioned whether the event would

put an undue strain on the police force and whether the city could

provide sufficient parking for the estimated 20,000 people the event

would draw.

Police Chief Ken Small admitted to having concerns with the beach

show, but said that if it was approved, the police would “work

valiantly to make it a success.”

In a series of impassioned speeches, Councilwomen Pam Julien

Houchen and Jill Hardy said that it was time for the city to move on

and forget about the past.

“I think we’ve outgrown our reputation as a party town,” Houchen

said. “I truly believe we have matured enough to have this

celebration.”

Last year, when the fireworks show was canceled, an unprecedented

number of illegal fireworks were confiscated by public safety

officials, she said.

“[Illegal fireworks] pose an incredible danger to our community,”

Houchen said.

Hardy, 32, speaking as the voice of youth on the council, said

that the fireworks show would be a family affair, not likely to draw

a party crowd. The rowdy drinkers will go to house parties and bars,

not to a city-sponsored fireworks display, she said.

“One of the goals in this city when we had problems nearly a

decade ago was to create family events, to create a family

atmosphere,” Hardy said. “I can’t think of anything more family

oriented than fireworks at the beach.”

After the beach plan died on a 4-3 vote, the City Council directed

the Fourth of July board to look into having the fireworks display at

other sites, such as Huntington Beach High School.