A proposal to declare all Huntington Beach businesses essential during the coronavirus crisis – and allow them to briskly reopen using their own guidelines – fizzled out Monday, May 18.
But not before it made for a six-hour meeting.
About 150 passionate public speakers either showed up at City Hall or called in, their opinions equally distributed between for and against. Even though Mayor Lyn Semeta limited their time to one minute, the debate dragged on past 10 p.m.
But in the end, five of the seven council members expressed reservations. In the wee hours of the morning, Semeta tabled the dead-in-the-water proposal “until a date uncertain.”
Councilman Erik Peterson spearheaded the bid for Huntington Beach to jump ahead of the state’s gradual reopening of counties based on their COVID-19 statistics.
“It is time for the unconstitutional federal and state policies that have destroyed business to be reversed,” Peterson wrote. “This ‘stay at home’ order is a violation of the U.S. and state Constitution and, importantly, also a violation of the First Amendment!”
In his comments to the council, Peterson pointed out that big-box retailers have remained open while independent boutiques were forced into hibernation. “All businesses should be treated the same,” he said.
Stores, restaurants, tattoo parlors and beauty salons should set their own social-distancing rules without government interference, he said, adding that consumer response ultimately would dictate those decisions.
“If they want to shelter, that’s fine,” he said.
Over the past few years, Huntington Beach has put itself on the forefront of battling – unsuccessfully – what some consider state intrusion into local rights. City Attorney Michael Gates argues that, as a charter city, Huntington Beach has special control over its operations.
In 2018, the city sued California over the state’s sanctuary laws, which provide some protections to undocumented workers. The following year, the state and the city exchanged lawsuits over affordable housing stipulations. And earlier this month, Huntington Beach sued the state for its April 30 closure of Orange County beaches – an order that was relaxed within days.
California ultimately prevailed, either by settlements or court decisions, in all three cases.
Apparently, some city officials have lost their appetite for such disputes.
Councilwoman Barbara Delgleize told Peterson that his proposal “stirred the pot” with “inflammatory language.”
“I don’t want the governor coming to our city and saying, ‘You’re not doing it the right way, move to the back of the line,’” Delgleize said.
Continuing that line of argument, Councilman Mike Posey said: “The governor is still in charge of the state. We’re not an autonomous, independent nation.”
Councilwoman Kim Carr deemed Peterson’s plan “ridiculous,” saying, “I’m not going to propose lawlessness here.”
“Whether you like the governor or not, it (the stay-at-home order) is constitutional, as we were reminded last Friday,” Carr said. On May 15, an Orange County Superior Court judge denied the city’s request for an injunction to open beaches without active-use-only restrictions.
Councilwoman Jill Hardy said she noticed public speakers favoring the proposal came from all over Southern California, meaning Huntington Beach might be overwhelmed by people escaping places where normal operations were still curbed.
“I heard, ‘Yes, open up! I want to come from Los Angeles, from Long Beach, from Riverside,’” Hardy said. “We need to do this as a large entity, working with surrounding communities.”
While Peterson’s proposal withered on the vine, another agenda item intended to help small businesses passed unanimously.
Posey and Patrick Brenden authored a recommendation directing staff to explore ways to temporarily open public and private outdoor spaces where restaurants could set up socially distanced tables.
Contrasting that proposal to Peterson’s, Brenden said, “It’s not all or nothing. Let’s meet in the middle.”
