Editor’s note: This story updates a page 3 article about the proposed LA Fitness club project that appeared in this week’s print edition of the Sun News. An appeal was filed after the Sun went to press.
A Seal Beach homeowners group has filed an appeal of a recent Planning Commission decision to allow an LA Fitness club to be built in Seal Beach.
On Wednesday afternoon, June 29, Margaret Parker, the president of the Rossmoor Park Owners Association submitted a formal appeal of the the project to the Seal Beach City Clerk’s office. The public had until 5 p.m., Thursday, June 30, to appeal the project
Despite the name, the Rossmoor Park condominiums are located in the City of Seal Beach.
Unless the validity of the appeal is challenged, the matter would go to the City Council in the near future.
Several citizens objected to the project at this week’s City Council meeting.
Mayor Sandra Massa-Lavitt told opponents of the project that their time to appeal was running out.
Carla Watson said the physical fitness club would have a negative impact on Seal Beach residents and Leisure World.
Last week, the Planning Commission voted 3-2 to approve the project following more than two hours of testimony from Seal Beach and nearby Rossmoor residents. The fitness club will be in the Shops at Rossmoor (in Seal Beach) behind Sprouts. The shopping center is located on the border of Seal Beach and Rossmoor.
According to the staff report, the proposed 37,000 square foot health club would operate from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., Mondays-Thursdays; 5 a.m.-10 p.m. Fridays and 8 a.m.-8 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays.
Patty Campbell, one of the two dissenting votes on the Planning Commission, said the building should be rotated 90 degrees and moved back 15 feet. Campbell also raised concerns about the loss of parking space that has previously been used by residents of the condominiums on Montecito Road, which runs between the shopping center and Rossmoor residences. The condominiums on the shopping center side of Montecito are in the City of Seal Beach.
Last week, Campbell said she believes Rossmoor Center Way, which cuts through the Shops at Rossmoor Center from Seal Beach Boulevard to Montecito Road, should be expanded to four lanes to accommodate traffic entering the center from Seal Beach Boulevard. Rossmoor Center way is two lanes wide, one recieiving traffic from Seal Beach Boulevard and the other feeding traffic onto Seal Beach Boulevard. One of the exits from the Rossmoor Park condominums opens onto Rossmoor Center WAY.
According to Jim Basham, the city’s Development Services director, LA Fitness plans to put two westbound lanes on Rossmoor Center Way and add a dedicated right turn lane that will make it easier for drivers to leave the center. Basham said the city would not be paying for the new lanes.
The health club would be built behind the Sprouts market in the Shops at Rossmoor center.
