They Are Out to Destroy “Mayberry by the Sea!”

More On Seal Beach Neighbors vs Bay City Partners !

(As mentioned in earlier articles, What’s Up in Seal Beach receives periodic reports from a large group of Seal Beach residents who are in opposition to the Bay City Partners group who are trying put a high density residential development on the old DWP land on the waterfront beginning at First and Ocean. What follows was received at 9 p.m. Tuesday evening.)

SEAL BEACH NEIGHBORS: Thank you again for coming to the DWP Advisory Committee meeting.  We think the Council is beginning to ‘hear’ you. Tomorrow night is the “rescheduled” EQCB Meeting at 6PM in the Council Chambers. Let’s see if they try to reschedule it again!

Remember that the DWP land has been on the “high priority list” of the Coastal Commission for many years. The current owners have owned this property for 10 years and all they’ve done is construct a “block-out-the-view spite fence” and allowed motor cross to destroy the natural vegetation and perhaps natural habitats. Good Guys…they are not!

They currently have threatened the City of Seal Beach with lawsuits if the Council does not change the zoning to fit their needs. We need your help us stop the over development of this land.

Schedule of coming meetings:

* EQCB (Environmental Quality Control Board)  Wednesday April 26th at 6PM in the City Council Chambers

* Planning Commission Final EIR & Project Recommendation Wednesday May 2nd      7:30 PM in the City Council Chambers

* City Council (1st hearing) Final EIR & Final Project hearing   Monday June 11  7PM

* City Council (2nd hearing) Final EIR & Final project hearing   Monday June 25  7PM

Remember:

*The Developers not only are trying to change the existing zoning they are going to get a lot of money from the city….and we are going to pay for it!

• 48 row houses densely packed end to end & a severe reduction of the planned park land  will be covered in concrete( This is the last bluff on Southern California Coast)

*   These houses will be jammed on 25′ narrow lots.

• There will be costly  concessions from the rest of  us to these developers.

We will have to pay the developers $900,000 to lease the driveway to 1st Street parking lot & we will get ZER0 of the Parking fees!

We are still trying to find out how something like this slipped through without the citizens being told.

We don’t want:

* Increased traffic, noise, pollution

* Increased costs for sewers, roads, water, schools

* Increased FIRE and POLICE costs

* Cancellation of Open Space that has been planned for over 10 years!

Bolsa Chica Land Trust Prevails…Yahoo!

NEWS FLASH – About 9 p.m. last night, we received the following “News Flash”  from the Bolsa Chica Land Trust …California Coastal Commission Denied the Coastal Development Permit for the Shea Homes Project at Bolsa Chica.

The BCLT fight against building these homes on coastal wetland property began in 2000.  May sound like a long time but we must remember that the BCLT and the Amigos de Bolsa Chica struggled with other developers, including California Coastal Communities, for over 35 years to save the lower Bolsa Chica Wetlands…now one of the most significant ocean restoration projects in the United States.  Had the California Coastal Commission not denied this project Shea that would have been allowed to put 111 houses on the Upper Bolsa Chica Wetlands.

Thanks so much to all the Bolsa Chica Land Trust members, friends and supporters who showed up at the hearing. Your presence made a difference for our beloved Bolsa Chica!!

In denying the CDP for this project, commissioners mentioned that this land was part of a larger ecosystem, something the Land Trust has  argued since this project was first proposed about 10 years ago. Other commissioners mentioned the lack of enforcement regarding the un-permitted fill on the property. This is another issue the Land Trust has raised for years. This fill, the BCLT believes, covered then existing wetlands!

It is a very happy day for most of us who value all of Bolsa Chica!

(Editor’s Note)  It’s also a rallying cry for people all over the state to do all they can to protect the ocean front for our progeny. This denial means that if the Shea Company wants to build houses on this site they have to go back to the drawing boards. It was a close vote….6 to 5 but fortunately wiser heads prevailed.

The make up of the CCC is often changed when the Sacramento Administration changes.  Hard to believe but politics does dictate how much of our heritage can be saved.   Why Shea wants to build 111 houses, when the company that built homes on a small portion of the lower wetlands is in bankruptcy is surprising but there are always those that see asphalt as an improvement over land in its natural state.

Seal Beach supporters of  the existing land use plans for the DWP property should take note and perhaps consider a “Seal Beach Land Trust” to help save that jewel?

Here Come The Developers Again!

The old power plant site on First street and to the San Gabriel River is  one of few possible sites left in California for an ocean-front hotel.

Its’  almost 11 acres of undeveloped land on Seal Beach’s coast and its been up for sale for almlost a year with expectations that the buyer would turn the site into a small hotel, not unlike the Seal Beach Inn; The Inn was demolished three years ago to build five upscale homes, some of which we believe are still unsold.

The owner of the land is a Limited Liability Corporation called, Bay City Partners, LLC, and they put it up for sale less than a year ago and are asking $26.5 million for the I0.7-acre parcel.  Seems like a fair mark-up since they paid $4.5 million for it in 2003.

It has been empty for nearly 30 years.

Estimates on building a 150-room hotel at the site were in the $32 million range  last year,  about $215,000 per room, Hotels on the beach in Orange County have been selling for about $460,000 per room according to estimates in August of 2008.

It goes without saying that the city has been very conscious of how that very prominent piece of land would be developed . As long ago as 1996 they voted against cramming in a lot of single family residences on the site because of: destroying views of existing homes, creating additional impact on existing traffic,  and the costs of other services. (Taxes on R-1 property rarely covers  the cost of the services provided by the city.)

Nearby resident Joel Davidson led a group of citizens who campaigned against the two story homes blocking the view of  existing residents when Bay City brought a similar plan before the council in 2003.  At that time, Rocky Gentner, a partner in the Bay City group said Davidson’s view protection ended at his property line and implied that therefore his argument was moot there’s a nice, thoughtful developer.  (Coincidentally, Bay City LLC was a prominent supporter of the pro-three story faction in the 2008 election. Since the defeat of the three story supporters the fence around the power plant property has been lined w/heavy green tarp.  Was that to block the view of the jetty, the marina’s and the landscape west of first street…. in the hopes that we wouldn’t know what we were going to lose if they got their new subdivision approved.) 

In 1996, after extensive meetings and with input from the citizens of Seal Beach, the City Council approved zoning for the property that would allow a 150 room hotel or smaller but let it be known that the open space should be substantial (about 70% )  and citizens should have access to the green space created and they did not want gated communities.  The majority of the land, some of which runs next to the San Gabriel river, would remain available for public use and as open space.

The land originally sold in 2003 (or 2000?) for a reported $4.5 million dollars. Whether Bay City LLC  are the original buyers (after the power plant removal) or not we aren’t sure, however, and and all buyers after 1996, bought it with full knowledge of the city’s zoning requirements and the neighbor’s views.

The city zoned the land as they did, and when they did, so that any prospective buyers would know that 70% of the land was to be left as open space and the city wanted a 150 room (or less) hotel for increased revenues for Seal Beach;  a desire that is even more needed in 2009.

Why Bay City has not been able to sell the land in the last year is anyone’s guess.  One reason might be the $26 and half million price tag.  A hefty price even for Seal Beach. Less than a year ago the firm marketing the land said there were several hotel developers interested and they expected the land to be sold in four to six months. Now Bay City has now come to the city with a proposal for creating 56 lots and building 35 two story homes,  21 “casitas”,  (size not available at this time) and a 75 room hotel with spa, restaurant and pool. 

This proposal seems to be even more egregious than the proposal Bay City brought before the planning  department 6 years ago. 

 

Some advice for Bay City Partners –  You should keep one thing in mind….. The citizens of Seal Beach don’t want to turn our town into another Huntington Beach. We saw what happened there.

We’ve got something magical in this city and we won’t let personal avarice take it away.

Some advice for Seal Beach residents – Watch to see where Bay City ads and/or financially supported stories appear to support the project and remember who looked for dollars rather than supporting the community.