Zoning rulings threaten Don the Beachcomber - we need your help!

High-rise apartments are threatening the future of our beloved Don the Beachcomber. City Council will be reviewing and voting on proposals to pursue studies to change the zoning at Don the Beachcomber to HIGH-DENSITY!

The land owners want to LEVEL Dons and sell the land to developers. Let them know that you want to retrain the current low-density zoning. Attend the city council study session meeting on Monday, July 6 at 4:00 or 6:00pm, city hall 2000 Main Street, HB.

WHAT CAN YOU DO RIGHT NOW? You can email ALL city council members at [email protected] and be sure to copy [email protected] Tell them that you want to retain low density zoning at Don the Beachcomber.

Sorry for the spam, but this is very important to the tiki community and to lovers of all things midcentury.
PLEASE SHARE and REPOST this. There is power in numbers!

Thanks for fixing the emails, Spike. The original flyer had some serious issues for both. This is also in discusssion in the Don the Beachcomber thread in Locating Tiki but I think this issue needs its own topic. I already emailed from both my addresses.

One of my concerns here is the lot that Don's is situated on
is very close to the Bird Sanctuary just up the street, wouldn't the city have to
to get an environmental impact assessment for any further development in the area?

Spike, do you know how much time remains with Don's current property lease?

In the event of the worst case, would Don's close forever, or would it possibly relocate? It might be too early, but I would love to hear some feedback as to how the Don The Beachcomber Corporation is thinking if this all goes down against them. It's all sad news... But that is prime land right there where they sit. And hey, maybe the condos will need a nice restaurant/bar on the ground level?

I just came back from a weekend in a very historic city where a nice period-style hotel was completely remodeled and renamed. The new place has NO charm at all and is very cold and "modern" and now is completely out-of-place. Developers do sometimes get to "rescue" low-income properties and then come back with stoopid concepts. It happens all the time -- just like it did to the old Sheraton Yankee Clipper in Fort Lauderdale which is now an austere and modern Miami-style hotel.

Blah!!!

I'm not the first to say this here, but -- enjoy and support it while you can.

Please feel free to post this to my facebook page. I have a number of continental friends.

I am torn over the issue... I did repost this info to my FB profile. You just never know how far ones social network will reach or the impact it may have. What I have issue with is reconciling my Libertarian sensibilities. The land owner ought to do with their land as they see fit. Unfortunately for us the land is home to Dons. The city is simply looking at the taxes it will collect. The only way I see Dons staying is somehow proving that Dons will generate more revenue for the city than Condos. I seriously do not see that happening. We regard this place as an historic temple to our escapism. They may just see the place as an aged watering hole on prime real estate. I just wish I was closer to be able to visit a handful more times in the event it all goes south.

[ Edited by: Freeland 2015-06-29 13:10 ]

At this time, I believe Don the beachcomber is going month-to-month on their lease. But I'm not sure. They will be issuing a formal statement within the next week or so. Their lawyers have advised them to keep quiet for now.

And the reason for this hearing at all is to get the zoning changed so that a new buyer can absolutely teardown the place and put up high-rise apartments. They have no interest in the restaurant or in preserving don the beachcomber or tiki history at all. At this point you'll have to wait for DtB's statement to find out if they have a contingency plan in case the place is torn down.

Maybe the neighboring Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station/Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge will be the deterrent to high density development of that area. The California Coastal Commission would have to ok the development due to it's proximity to the coast and wildlife areas.
Traffic impact would also need to be studied, PCH is only a 2 lane road on each side through that area.
Taki Sun, the owners of Peter's Landing, are the ones that are trying to get the zoning revised. They also own the derelict SeaPort Marina Pacifica Hotel at 2nd and PCH in Long Beach. They have been trying to get the Coastal Commission and the City of LBC to revise the low density zoning of that area so they can tear down the hotel and build 5 14-story towers. They have been shot down numerous times over that plan.

I just wrote a letter of concern to both parties mentioned. I'm heading to the bay area as a vendor in a few days to take part in a Polynesian 4th of July event. I will make it a point to revisit Don's as a show of support and document it for my blog. Others in the Tiki Az group are sending letters of concern as well.

Don's FUTURE:

1. IF the current landowner wants sell & level Don's which has a month to month lease.
2. IF the prospective developer is offering big $$$$ to that landowner.
3. IF the prospective developer has their legal zoning muscle, environment impact studies etc. ready for a Zoning Hearing. Looks BAD! )-:

On 2015-06-29 13:33, tikilongbeach wrote:
Maybe the neighboring Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station/Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge will be the deterrent to high density development of that area. The California Coastal Commission would have to ok the development due to it's proximity to the coast and wildlife areas.
Traffic impact would also need to be studied, PCH is only a 2 lane road on each side through that area.
Taki Sun, the owners of Peter's Landing, are the ones that are trying to get the zoning revised. They also own the derelict SeaPort Marina Pacifica Hotel at 2nd and PCH in Long Beach. They have been trying to get the Coastal Commission and the City of LBC to revise the low density zoning of that area so they can tear down the hotel and build 5 14-story towers. They have been shot down numerous times over that plan.

This was my thought also & may be the only impediment to using the land for a new apartment complex
as well as a legal option to prevent that from happening.

Long live DTBC. I would hate to see it go away. Thinking positive.

I've been sitting on this info for a bit... The official statement from Dons reveals that the land has, in fact, been purchased from the developer....

First and foremost we want to thank all of you who have voiced their continued support for Don the Beachcomber as well as the Sunset Beach community.

During our tenancy at this historic venue we knew that there would be some hurdles and obstacles to overcome and that the fate of the property would ultimately rely on our ability to succeed so that we may at some point down the road be able to call upon those that have enjoyed this Tiki Palace over its many years of its existence. In 2009 when Art and Delia Snyder acquired the property it was their sole intention to preserve the historic significance of the building as well as to renew its prominence in the Southern California region and to be able to continue the legacy of not only Don the Beachcomber but also of what used to be Sam’s Seafood.

There have been many times during our tenancy that the land was in escrow and out of escrow; to the point that we wouldn’t even pay attention and we would simply continue business as usual and here we are 7 years later. Most recently the land did sell to a new entity and we have been in constant communication with the new landlord as to what his intentions are with the land and whilst he does have plans to redevelopment in the distant future, he currently does not plan to redevelop the land any time soon. The landlord of Peter’s Landing have been pushing the rezoning for some time now for their property but our landlord informed us today that he will not participate with any rezoning project and is still interested in keeping us as a tenant.

You can email ALL city council members at [email protected] and be sure to copy [email protected] and tell them that you want to retain low density zoning at Don the Beachcomber and Peter’s Landing or You can attend the city council meeting Monday July 6th 2015 4pm/6pm @ Huntington Beach City Hall 2000 Main Street

Cheers! To Staying for another 100 years! ‪#‎SaveDontheBeachcomber‬

I got the same email, Spike posted here, so this is the official reply from Don's
to the public, so good news to hear for sure, but we need to support Don's
first & foremost, Send those emails to the city & let them know why they need to keep Don the Beachcomber.

This Texan needs to get back there post haste. The last time I was there one of the bar tenders looked for a good 30 minutes to find me some old matchbooks for me to take back. They were never found, but a good reason to go back asides pick up mugs that I am missing in the collection.

I was relieved to see their message, but believe we should all keep a weather eye out on the situation. Landlords can get sneaky in situations where they know there will be outcry from the public.

Some new stuff that I put together...

The support page. Stay up to date on news, here!
https://www.facebook.com/savedonthebeachcomber

And we made it on the CBS news last night!
Btw, I don't know where the news chick got that Sam's Seafood burned down three times...?

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2015/07/02/huntington-beach-landmark-don-the-beachcomber-may-be-torn-down/

We lost Sam's once before. We can't let this happen again.

From the OC Register...

"City officials say nothing will happen QUICKLY, if at all."

Yes, but re-zoning opens the door to allow for changes to be made. Keep on the fight!

This article is already out of date. My reports say that over 500 emails have been sent to the city council and we are already over 1000 strong on this Facebook page! Good work, everyone!

Please write the city council and explain why Don's is so important to us and to the community and that you don't want the movement for high density zoning on the property approved. Thanks!
[email protected]

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/city-670111-beach-beachcomber.html

[ Edited by: hang10tiki 2015-07-03 13:58 ]

Save Dons

Tonight is the big meeting at the Huntington Beach City Council!! At 6pm, 25 people from the 'pro zoning change' side and 25 people from the 'against zoning change' side will have a 3 minute opportunity to state their cases. Get there early to sign up to speak. Those 25 spots will go quickly.

Please attend if you are able to! This vote could really affect the future of the historic Don the Beachcomber.
The meeting will also be streamed online at the link below.

http://huntingtonbeach.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=34

Thanks Matt for being proactive & on top of this, good luck
and score some points for us! you da man!

Naturally, I would hate to see Don's disappear but the proposed zoning changes would also be the first overt move by Huntington Beach to screw up this low-key community of eclectic residents and businesses, since Sunset Beach was annexed several years ago. I hope to make it tonight.
Save Don's - Save Sunset Beach!

Well, we did it! The Huntington Beach City council just voted unanimously and they plan to leave the area alone! No re-zoning!!! I can't believe how the tiki and Sunset Beach community rallied around this effort.

It truly is a testament to what Dons/ Sams means to everyone. It IS worth saving.
Good work friends!! Mahalo!

On 2015-07-06 23:51, Luckydesigns wrote:
Well, we did it! The Huntington Beach City council just voted unanimously and they plan to leave the area alone! No re-zoning!!! I can't believe how the tiki and Sunset Beach community rallied around this effort.

It truly is a testament to what Dons/ Sams means to everyone. It IS worth saving.
Good work friends!! Mahalo!

Awesome! Thanks for the update. Let's all head to Don's this week (or as soon as schedules permit) to celebrate!
:drink:

Thanks for the good news, I heard that a good number of TC regulars
were able to make comments at the meeting, congrats!

Excellent, shows what you can do if you band together.

Here is a summary article form the OC Register.

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/beach-670510-beachcomber-huntington.html

DC

So great to hear... I watched the live feed from Austin.

7-0 against rezoning. Awesome!

(-: (-: (-: !!!

At this time, I believe Don the beachcomber is going month-to-month on their lease. But I'm not sure. They will be issuing a formal statement within the next week or so. Their lawyers have advised them to keep quiet for now.

And the reason for this hearing at all is to get the zoning changed so that a new buyer can absolutely teardown the place and put up high-rise apartments. They have no interest in the restaurant or in preserving don the beachcomber or tiki history at all. At this point you'll have to wait for DtB's statement to find out if they have a contingency plan in case the place is torn down.

So if DTB vacates the current location & the building is torn down, the property has still not been rezoned for apt. density??? So the other question is will the entity known as DTB remain in the area at another location???