Los Angeles herald., 1907-03-08

Phone-Eome 2o7.
LONG BEACH. March 7.--The Sea-
side Water company and the Long
Beach Bath House and Amusement
company, corporations controlled by the
same persons, claim that they have
never decided to the city that ground
which comprises Pine avenue between
Ocean avenue and mean high tide line.
In an agreement which the corpora
tions named have asked Mayor Downs
to sign, 1t is stated that II the city
drops the proposed move to open Sea-
side boulevard across tie bath house
property, the dedication of this ground
will never be questioned.
The corporations agree to "allow the
pier to remain where 1t is" and also to
deed a strip of land eight feet wide,
extending from the Westminster
property west NJ the pier to the mean
high tide line, II their wishes in re-
gard to the Seaside boulevard opening
are fulfilled. This. it is pointed out,
would set at rest the possible differences
between the companies and the city
regarding the right of the city to erect
booths on the sides of the pier, and
would make it possible to maintain the
stairway leading down from the pier
to the walk of q Thousand Lights"
The corporations agree to remove all
the booths along the walk west of the
pier as fast as the leases expire, and
to erect no buildings south of the West
minister building more than the height
of the pier, that the ocean view shall
not be obstructed.
Mayor Downs is the only one Of the
city officials who has expressed him
self in favor of entering into the pro-
posed agreement. The other council
men consider the whole matter a pre-
tentious bit of bluffing and assert that
the Seaside Water company has no
rights whatever in Pine avenue or the
pier.
Said Frederick Baker, former city
attorney, today:
"Pine avenue is a dedicated street
and no company or corporation can
have any interest in it.
"The Seaside Water company al
lowed the city to place the buttresses
of the pier in their present location
without legal objection and by process
of law the company is stopped from
claiming title.
"The booths to which objections are
made are below ordinary high tide
line. The claim that the booths over
hang the corporations line is prepos-
ferrous. I invited the corporations to
contest the I1dLIer WIetl Luo UuIlTcSSco
OF the pier were laid, but they declined
to do So"
Mr.. Baker was city attorney when
the Seaside Water company made a
previous attempt to compel the city
| to recognize its claims to Pine avenue.
The present Is the third such attempt
to be made 1t is expected to be no
more successful than the others
1--WE have deed to a strip of land
| twenty feet in Width along the east
side of Pine avenue south of the bluff,
increasing it's width from eighty to 100
feet" said city Engineer H. e. Shaw
this afternoon. "In that, II nowhere
else, the corporations admit the dedi-
cation of Pine avenue to the city. Why,
the very fact that we have used Pine
avenue for the past ten years is enough
to establish 1t as public thorough
fare.'
The Seaside company has frequently
charged that the booths along the
sides of the pier overhung their prop
erty. These booths naturally shut Off
the view of the beach from certain
portion of the pier In the agreement
submitted the city is asked to bind
itself to remove the Objectionable
booths along the sides of the pier and
to establish octagonal-shaped kiosks
down the center of the pier instead.
The agreement is in the hands of the
ordinance and judiciary committee.