Editor’s note: If you have a question about a city issue—or a suggestion for filing a Public Records Act request—email Associate Editor Charles M. Kelly at editor2@sunnews.org.
Questions answered
The Sun on Wednesday, April 13, sent three questions to Seal Beach Community Development Director Alexa Smittle. On Monday, April 18, Smittle sent her answers.
Sun: “How many permits that allow construction are allowed in a given area at one time?
“How does the city define the parameters of an area?
Smittle: “Property owners have a protected right to develop their property within the confines of the municipal code. As such, the City does not limit the number of building permits issued within a geographic area.”
Sun: “What is the time period for construction?”
Smittle: “The City’s municipal code allows construction to occur between the hours of 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on weekdays, and from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturdays.”
Not mentioned: Seal Beach’s Municipal Code is enforced based on complaints. No complaint, no enforcement.
Councilman defends pickleball group
On April 11, the City Council approved a one-year “memorandum of understanding” between the city and the Seal Beach Pickleball Association.
District Three Councilman Mike Varipapa is president of the SBPA.
Varipapa left the room while the council discussed and voted on the agreement.
Some Seal Beach residents opposed the agreement.
On April 12, the Sun emailed the following questions to Varipapa.
• “Would you like to comment on any of the criticisms raised during last night’s public comments?
• “Why did you decide to form the pickleball association?”
The Sun did not receive a reply before last week’s deadline.
The Sun resent the questions on April 18 and left a voice message with Varipapa, offering him another opportunity to respond.
On April 19, Varipapa emailed the following:
“The Seal Beach Pickleball Association (SBPA) is a non-profit organization that was organized by volunteers who are passionate about promoting and continuing to grow the sport of pickleball for all ages and skill levels through the City of Seal Beach and the Seal Beach Tennis and Pickleball Center. The SBPA consists of a Board of Directors that are all volunteers who are passionate about and dedicated to the sport of pickleball and working together to provide and promote additional pickleball events and programs, with the additional goal of contributing funds towards additional pickleball programs and enhancements at the SBTPC.
“The SBPA looks forward to continuing to work in close partnership with the City and SBTPC community, which is an operational model that is quite common in the pickleball community in many communities.”
City releases Old Ranch development proposal records
On March 12, the Sun requested the application for the Old Ranch development project and emails for the same.
On March 12, the Sun requested the application for the Old Ranch development project and emails for the same.
On March 22, the city requested more time to review and respond to each of the requests.
On April 6, the city again requested more time to reply to the two requests.
On April 19, the city released 485 pages related to the project application and 175 pages of emails on the subject.
According to the Seal Beach Public Records Request portal, the response to the request for the application cost 20 minutes of staff time at a cost of $6.90. The city of Seal Beach does not charge requesters for staff time.
According to the portal, the response to the request for email cost 1 hour 30 minutes of staff time at a cost of $27.59.
Cancelled government meetings
• The Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board meeting scheduled for Wednesday, April 27, has been canceled due to a lack of business, according to a notice posted on Monday, April 18.
The next EQCB meeting is scheduled to be held May 25.
• The Wednesday, April 27, meeting of the Recreation and Parks Commission has been canceled, according to the calendar on the home page of the city website.
As of 12:34 p.m., Tuesday, April 19, a notice of cancelation had not appeared on the city website nor on the bulletin board at City Hall.
• The Seal Beach Tree Advisory Board meeting scheduled for Wednesday, May 4, has been cancelled due to a lack of business, according to a notice posted on April 18.
The next tree TAB meeting is scheduled to be held May 25.
