Cheers and applause filled the Council Chamber when the public learned that the city attorney would negotiate with local business owners to develop the restaurant space on the Seal Beach Pier.
City Attorney Quinn Barrow announced Monday night, April 29, that the City Council had directed him to negotiate a development agreement with Off The Hook, which is owned by the owners of the Original Fish Company.
The City Council made the decision during the 5 p.m. closed session of the meeting. Barrow announced the news during the regular open session of the council meeting.
Once the negatiations with Off the Hook are complete, the matter will come back to the City Council for final approval during an open session.
Carla Watson, a Seal Beach resident and member of the Recreation and Parks Commission, thanked the council for its decision.
Local activist Joyce Parque, a frequent critic of the council, congratulated the council on selecting a local business run by individuals with experience managing restaurants.
Two businesses had been discussing the development of the restaurant space at the end of the pier for several months: MDK Restaurant Developers and Off the Hook.
MDK is an out-of-town business. Off the Hook is locally owned.
Both companies spoke to the council prior to the closed session. Both companies proposed building a two-story building with restaurants on each floor.
That, however, might change. Prior to the closed session, Randy Hiatt of Fessel International, who has been working on behalf of Off the Hook, said there had been some public discussion about a one-story version of the restaurant rather than a two-story version.
Wendy Rothman, of Off the Hook and Original Fish Company, said they were flexible. She said they would be willing to work within the parameters required by the various governing bodies that would approve the pier development.
Because the project is located on the pier, the California Coastal Commission would also have to approve the development.
Dhiren Shah, of MDK, discussed concept drawings that were distributed to the council members. He said the Sand Castle would provide a view from inside the second floor. He said this was better because the roof would be exposed to the weather.
As previously reported, Seal Beach residents on Monday, April 14, urged City Council members to reach an agreement with Off the Hook. Watson, for example, said the choice was between an out-of-town business and an established local business. At that time, no members of the public spoke in favor of the MDK project.
A recent sunnews.org poll asked “Should only local businesses have a location on the Seal Beach Pier?”
Result: 44 percent of those polled said yes, 44 percent said no and 11 percent said they had no opinion.
In March, the Sun reported that Joe McKettrick, the principle of MDK, said his company had been negotiating for the pier space for more than a year.
Off the Hook’s offer was presented to the council on Feb. 10, when Hiatt, a representative of Fessel International, pitched Rothman’s proposal during the public comment segment of the open meeting.
