Two former Huntington Beach officials have filed an eleventh-hour injunction to prevent the city from paying almost $5 million to the annual air show operator for a settlement approved in May.

Former Huntington Beach Mayor Connie Boardman and Former Planning Commissioner Mark Bixby on Thursday, June 29, filed the lawsuit, which charges that the city prematurely settled before a judge weighed in.

Pacific Airshow LLC sued Huntington Beach in October for losses it incurred after the third and final day of the October 2021 air show was canceled following reports of an oil spill. The spill ended up being about 25,000 gallons and closed beaches and fishing along much of the Orange County coast for weeks.

The city agreed to pay the air show operator nearly $5 million, with up to $2 million more if the city recovers additional money from its lawsuit against Amplify Energy Corp., the company that owns the pipeline that leaked.

City leaders released a summary of the settlement, but have refused to disclose the full agreement, angering some residents.

Lee Fink, attorney for Boardman and Bixby, called the settlement “a gift of taxpayers funds that is totally unlawful.” A judge would not find the city liable in closing the beach during a hazardous oil spill and the current City Council and City Attorney Michael Gates know that, he argued.

“Last week, the City Council barely missed closing libraries and it’s planning on giving away millions of dollars to air show operators,” Fink said.

Boardman, who spent eight years on the council, said the city should potentially look for another company to hold an air show.

“It wasn’t the city’s fault the old spill happened. The city had to protect beachgoers,” she said. “Agreeing to the settlement was ridiculous … Oil is toxic.”

Boardman and Bixby are asking the Orange County Superior Court to block the settlement.

Gates responded Thursday that he can’t disclose the city’s rationale for settling because it falls under attorney-client privilege.

But Gates pointed to Visit Huntington Beach tourism bureau research that says the air show generates more than $100 million a year in direct and indirect local revenues.

The estimate comes from a 2022 analysis done by the Destination Analysts that said the air show resulted in $70 million in direct spending, including revenues from taxes and fees of $3.7 million. Indirect and trickle-down spending boosted the number to more than $100 million, according to the analysis.

“There’s absolutely no gift here,” Gates said. “If there’s no settlement, there’s no air show … This could be characterized as anything but a sweetheart deal.”

Pacific Airshow’s lawsuit won’t be dismissed until the city sends the first payment of $1.9 million by the end of July, according to a summary of the settlement agreement.

Earlier this month, Huntington Beach resident and former City Council candidate Gina Clayton-Tarvin filed a lawsuit to get a copy of the air show settlement that Gates has refused to release.

A judge will hear both Clayton-Tarvin’s case and the new injunction request on Friday, June 30, in Orange County Superior Court.

Related links

First day of Pacific Airshow brings high-flying action above Huntington Beach
Here’s what it looks like to fly with the planes in the Pacific Airshow
Major oil spill closes OC beaches, kills wildlife in Huntington Beach
A year later, the Huntington Beach oil spill still is being felt