Huntington Beach’s beloved — and controversial — annual airshow faces a pivotal test on Friday when the California Coastal Commission is set to vote on whether to grant the airshow a permit for its planned October event.
The airshow failed to get a permit in recent years from the commission, which has jurisdiction over coastal development and activities. Its staff are proposing to grant a one-time permit to the airshow in exchange for a strict list of conditions and a fine of $274,758.
The show operator would still have to come back to the Coastal Commission with a complete Coastal Development Permit application, and get the commission’s approval, in order to put on future shows.
Why the airshow has been controversial
The city is currently paying the airshow a half million dollars annually, plus other perks, as part of a controversial legal settlement that came after the operator accused the city of unnecessarily canceling the show in 2021 following a major oil spill…