Huntington Beach’s City Council on Tuesday upheld planning approvals for two proposed large single‑family homes in Huntington Harbor after extended public testimony raising concerns about neighborhood compatibility, aging seawalls and environmental review. The council considered appeals of Planning Commission and zoning administrator approvals for two projects: 16471 Malden Circle and 16482 Somerset Lane.

The council voted on each house separately. For the Malden Circle project (appeal of CUP 24‑007 and CDP 24‑005), the council affirmed the zoning administrator and planning‑commission decisions and approved the conditional use permit and coastal development permit as recommended by staff and the planning commission. The final vote on the Malden item was 6–1 in favor of approval.

Speakers testifying against the Malden application argued the proposed roughly 7,700‑square‑foot residence would be far larger than neighborhood norms, could worsen shading of nearby homes and might strain nearby aging seawalls. Several nearby residents described past seawall failures, costly repairs, and concerns that heavier, larger homes could accelerate structural problems. Multiple attorneys and planning professionals who supported the appeal cited California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) precedents and urged a focused environmental review, arguing the project’s size and the harbor’s “D” infrastructure rating warranted an EIR rather than a categorical exemption for single‑family homes.

Supporters of the project and the property owner’s representatives said the design complies with the zoning code: setbacks, lot coverage and a building height of 30 feet meet municipal standards. City planners presented slides documenting other nearby properties with authorized third‑story elements and said the project’s third‑floor habitable area is contained within the roof volume per the city’s third‑story rules. The zoning administrator and planning commission had found the proposals consistent with the general plan, zoning and the local coastal program.

On the separately appealed Somerset Lane project (CUP 24‑032 and CDP 24‑036), which also proposed a multi‑story waterfront residence of roughly 7,400 square feet, the council approved the project as recommended by staff but amended the approval to cap the project’s maximum building height at 30 feet. That amendment was adopted after discussion about neighborhood scale and the presence of other approved 35‑foot projects on nearby parcels; the motion to approve the Somerset Lane application as modified passed 6–1.

Both appeals generated broad attendance and extended public comment: homeowners in the immediate channel stressed seawall reliability and solar‑shadowing risks; other speakers emphasized property‑rights and economic arguments favoring redevelopment. Council members asked staff and the applicants detailed questions about plan‑check requirements, the city’s interpretation of the third‑story code, and the role of site‑specific geotechnical and structural engineering reports, which staff said are required before building permits would be issued.

The council did not require new environmental impact reports at this time. Staff and the council said project permits remain subject to plan‑check and to engineering and geotechnical conditions before any building permits are issued.