Active shooter drill at McGaugh today, Aug. 4
A reminder: The Seal Beach Police will conduct an active shooter drill at McGaugh Elementary School today, Aug. 4. This is only a drill.
Cuddle kittens at Sun office, 2-4 p.m., Aug. 12,
CatPAWS volunteers will bring some potentially adoptable kittens to the Sun office from 2-4 p.m., Friday, Aug. 12.
Main Street Bank Of America remodel: branch set to reopen in October
By now, everyone has seen the screened fence surrounding the parking lot next to Main Street’s Bank of America Branch.
The Sun asked both BOA and the city what was going on.
According to a July 28 email from Seal Beach Community Development Director Alexa Smittle, the branch on Main Street is installing a new ramp and handrail, as well as repairing water and tree root damage to an exterior wall,
In a July 29 email from Colleen Haggerty, Bank of America SVP Media Relations, “we are about to start a remodel and renovation of our Seal Beach branch. It will reopen in October.”
Housing Element extension doesn’t help Seal Beach
Some news reports had some Seal Beach residents thinking cities would get a reprieve on a state requirement that cities update the “Housing Element” of their general plans.
No such luck.
“Senate Bill 197 extends the timeline for jurisdictions to complete rezoning efforts that may be necessary to implement a Housing Element, but only for those that have adopted Elements found to be in substantial compliance with State law by HCD by October 15, 2022,” wrote Community Development Director Alexa Smittle in a July 21 email.
“Following approval of Senate Bill 197, HCD issued a statement notifying cities that Housing Elements must be submitted for review by August 15th as HCD staff requires a minimum review time of 60 days,” Smittle wrote.
“It does not extend the timeline for adoption and certification of a Housing Element. Staff continues to work with HCD on revisions,” Smittle wrote.
District One Councilman/Mayor Joe Kalmick wrote: “And by the way there is no change to the RHNA number of housing units that we are required to zone for.”
RHNA stands for Regional Housing Needs Assessment.
The state has mandated that Seal Beach plan for the construction of 1,243 units, with a certain number to be low income or moderate housing.
