On October 10, there was a joint meeting by the Seal Beach Planning Commission and City Council to review the draft 2008-2014 Housing Element (Draft). With a City Council approval by a 3 to 2 vote, the Draft was sent on October 12 to the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) for review. Council member David Sloan of District 2 and I voted against sending the Draft to HCD. The Rossmoor Center (Shops at Rossmoor) is identified for thirty-three units of affordable housing.
I have two main issues with the Draft: (i) lack of public meeting notifications and participation in the process and (ii) the process.
Lack of Public Meeting Notifications and Participation:
The Draft indicates city residents and interested local stakeholders had many opportunities to participate in the Housing Element update process. This is not true since the public was not notified of the Ad Hoc General Plan/Local Coastal Plan Citizens Advisory Committee (Committee) meetings and meeting agendas.
The Draft states “Meeting notices were posted on the city’s website, and notification was published in the local newspaper in advance of the meetings.” Most people do not check the city’s website, which is not user-friendly. However, as a City Council Member, I go to the website often and I never saw any notice of the meetings. NO meeting notifications were ever posted in the local newspaper. The reason 30 to 40 people attended the October 10 meeting was because of my October newsletter item regarding the Draft, and the last minute notification to several Seal Beach residents near the Shops at Rossmoor and several Rossmoor residents. It is my understanding that the May 10 and June 14 Committee meetings only had two Old Town residents in attendance, and the August 9 meeting only had one. There was no public participation.
The Process: This so-called Citizens Advisory Committee is chaired by Councilwoman Ellery Deaton of Old Town, and committee members were appointed and approved by the City Council.
The Director of Developmental Services and a consultant supported and guided the Committee. This Committee was to be working on the Local Coastal Plan; I did not know until September 2 that the same Committee was working on the Draft Housing Element and had identified the Shops at Rossmoor as an affordable housing site. At the May 10, June 14, and August 9 Committee meetings, the Committee was composed of 62%, 67%, and 70% respectively of Old Town and The Hill residents.
The meetings were not audio or video-taped and no one can tell me who suggested the Shops at Rossmoor. It has been indicated to me that the Director of Developmental Services and/or the consultant identified the Shops at Rossmoor for affordable housing.
The Committee reviewed ten properties and identified two for affordable housing. Five units for a liquor store property site at Seal Beach Blvd. and Pacific Coast Highway, and 33 unites at the Shops at Rossmoor.
The Draft did not address two properties in Old Town: the DWP property and the Exxon property adjacent to Marina Park.
The Director of Developmental Services indicated the DWP property was not considered because a housing development is currently under review for that site, but the Bay City–City Settlement Agreement anticipated affordable housing for this property by stating the city shall not require additional affordable housing.
To me, this means if this property is approved for residential zoning, affordable housing may be required.
According to the Director, the Exxon property was not addressed because the city currently has a State Grant application pending. The city council was misinformed when it selected this site for the grant application, and the city may not be approved for the $5 million grant. In 2009, 53 to 56 units of affordable housing were identified for this site along with a possible new city pool. The Boeing parking lot was identified for a shelter, but not for affordable housing.
The State Lands property at First Street and Pacific Coast Highway was not identified in the draft, because city staff indicated that the state-owned property “may be” incorporated into the Hellman Wetlands. The foundation of the old casino/dance hall is still on the site today, and there are no wetlands in the area of the foundation.
If the state wants a site for affordable housing and shelter, this property can be rezoned from general commercial to residential.
The Draft indicates the property owner of Shops at Rossmoor has shown an interest in pursuing residential development on the underutilized portion of the property.
If this is true, that is one thing; but if not, it seems the 1967 annexation of this property, as a General Commercial Zone should stand. The desire for residential development by the owner should be addressed upon application to the city. The city should not take the land by rezoning it RHD-33. Residents have expressed concern for increased traffic, increased air pollution, over-building the area, and impact on property values.
Final Planning Commission and City Council public hearing will be scheduled early next year.
If the Housing Element in its present form is approved by the HCD, and subsequently adopted by the City Council, the city would be required to rezone one acre of the Shops at Rossmoor to allow thirty-three residential units.
Even if rezoned, however, the owner of the Shops at Rossmoor would not be obligated to construct any residential housing, i.e., the acre could remain a parking lot.
Again, my concerns are that there was no public meeting notifications, all options were not reviewed, and there was no public participation or input regarding the Draft. I feel HCD should return the Draft to the city for public participation and the city should create a new committee to only address updating the Housing Element. If you have comments, questions, or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Should you desire to express your opinion on this matter, you can e-mail Melinda Coy at mcoy@hcd.ca.gov or write her at:
Melinda Coy
Housing Policy Specialist
California Department of Housing and Community Development
1800 3rd Street, Suite 430
Sacramento, CA 95811
Gary Miller is the District 4 City Council member. To contact him, call (562) 596–9057 or e-mail Miller.sbcc4@earthlink.net.
