Huntington Beach Council Votes to Move International Surfing Museum Into Main Street Library

In a 6-0 vote, the city approved relocating the surf museum into the Main Street Branch Library for $500 a month — a deal critics are calling a giveaway of public space.

In a unanimous 6-0 vote, the Huntington Beach City Council approved relocating the city's surf museum into the Main Street Branch Library for $500 a month — a deal critics are calling a giveaway of public space.

Huntington Beach's International Surfing Museum is leaving its home of more than 35 years on Olive Avenue.

On Tuesday night, the City Council voted 6-0 — with Councilman Pat Burns absent — to approve a license agreement relocating the nonprofit museum into the Main Street Branch Library. The museum will occupy roughly 1,200 square feet of dedicated space and share an additional 3,600 square feet with library operations.

Under the terms of the agreement, the museum will pay $500 per month in base rent — a fee that covers utilities, staff support, and parking. Community and Library Services Director Ashley Theel confirmed that no city funds will go toward the museum's relocation or improvement costs.

Mayor Casey McKeon framed the move as a cultural win for Surf City.

"I just think with the location across the street from the art center, it could really cross-pollinate very well," McKeon said. "It makes a lot of sense to fuse these two together."

The city will co-sponsor up to eight "Surfin' Sundays" events per year under the agreement. A 60-day termination clause was included in case the arrangement doesn't work out.

Not Everyone Was Sold

Several residents pushed back during public comment, calling the rent a sweetheart deal. "You can't rent a bedroom in this town for less than $750 a month, plus utilities," said resident Chris Rini.

Kim Kramer, a longtime library advocate who was involved in the 2010 effort to save the Main Street branch, raised deeper concerns. "You can't just take a library and start adding other services to it," she said. "People don't come there to go to a surf museum, they come there to study and work and take out books and read."

Critics also noted that the museum was previously behind on rent at its current location and only recently cleared its arrears — and that the space being repurposed is currently used by the Friends of the Library, whose used-book operations generate more than $250,000 annually for the library system.

Councilman Andrew Gruel defended the arrangement. "We can't on the one hand say that we want to provide free services for residents, and on the other hand say we're not charging them enough," he said. "This is a temporary opportunity to drive more traffic into the library and collaborate with the surf museum, and we are 'Surf City, USA.'"

The surf museum is currently closed as it prepares to debut an exhibit celebrating the 50th anniversary of the World Surf League.