by Robb Fulcher
The Hermosa Beach Council on Tuesday agreed to take up the matter of a possible moratorium on any new or expanded restaurants occupying space now used by retail stores in the downtown area.
The proposal by Councilman Sam Edgerton will be lumped into a wide-ranging goal-setting session for the council Feb. 17 and Feb. 24.
Edgerton said that a moratorium would encourage more stores, especially "boutique" shops, to balance a restaurant-heavy business revitalization.
But he warned against over-regulating the successful downtown.
"We should not get so far into restrictions that we kill the goose that laid the golden egg," he told his colleagues.
If enacted, the moratorium could last as long as two years, while the council studies a possible overall plan for business development. New restaurants would be allowed to open, and existing ones would be allowed to expand, but only into space that already has a restaurant use.
A citywide moratorium was being considered some months ago, but Edgerton scaled back the plan to cover only downtown, defined as Pier Avenue west of Valley Drive, Hermosa Avenue from Eighth to 16th streets, plus 11th, 13th and 14th streets west of Hermosa Avenue.
With former Councilman Bob Benz' decision to step down from the council to run for city treasurer last November, the council's one fierce foe of the moratorium plan is gone.
Benz had argued that Edgerton's plan amounted to a "taking" of the rights of property owners, and contended that the opening of new stores can be encouraged by market forces, but not by government regulation.
Benz argued loudly that the council should restrict its role to encouraging a favorable business climate.
Edgerton said cities such as Key West, Florida have "effectively" implemented similar plans.
On the other side of that teeter-totter, Councilman JR Reviczky has pushed for a more precise plan for the overall development of downtown.
Mayor Julie Oakes said the moratorium, with its aim of promoting more retail businesses, belongs in the more general upcoming planning sessions.
"We haven't sat here as a body and determined that that's where we're going," she said. ER