A proposed change of the zoning for a 4-acre parcel of industrial land failed Monday, June 24, when a Seal Beach councilman abstained from voting on the motion to adopt the law.
In late May, the City Council voted to approve the introduction of an ordinance that would have allowed residential development of the property now occupied by Accurate Storage. The land is located opposite Seal Beach Police Department headquarters on Adolfo Lopez, at the Seal Beach intersection. It is also within walking distance of the Seal Beach Animal Care Center.
Staff had recommended that the city change the zoning for the property to comply with a California mandate that Seal Beach designate 21 potential sites for affordable or “high density” housing. The state requires the designation of the potential location of housing in order to certify the housing section of the city’s general plan.
Without a housing element, a city may be sued and might lose authority to issue building permits.
Opponents of the zone change pointed out that the 4-acre Accurate Storage property was large enough to allow 90 housing units, not the 21 required by the state.
On Monday night, council members voted 2-2 on whether to change the property’s zoning.
The ordinance needed a majority of three votes to pass. Council members Gordon Shanks of District Three and Ellery Deaton of District One cast no votes. Council members David Sloan of District Two and Mayor Gary Miller cast yes votes.
District Five Councilman Michael Levitt abstained, causing the motion to adopt the law to fail.
The audience in the packed, standing room only, City Council Chamber gave a standing ovation to the defeat of the zoning change.
Monday’s meeting was emotionally charged, with residents occasionally shouting at council members and the audience bursting into applause each time someone spoke out against the proposal.
Sharman Snow, a volunteer at the Seal Beach Animal Shelter, told the council that the only people who would win from changing the property’s zoning were the people who would make money from the change. She said that the majority of council members ran on zoning issues. Snow recently wrote a guest column in the Sun Newspapers (“Rezoning harmful to Animal Care Center,” Thursday, June 20) in which she argued that anyone who moved into houses built on the lot would object to the noise coming from the shelter.
Snow urged the council to vote against the zone change. “Please be the people we know you are,” she said.
Tim Martin, a lawyer representing the Heron Pointe Maintenance Corporation, said his law firm had issued a letter to the city objecting to the zone change.
He did not read the letter, but said it summed up the feeling in the community that residents had been excluded from the process.
The Accurate Storage land is located within walking distance of the Heron Pointe development.
He said the proposed zone change was incompatible with land use in the area.
He said there were better sites in the city. He also asked staff to explain what the consequences would be if the city did not meet the deadline for designating a sight for housing.
Later, City Attorney Quinn Barrow said the state would not impose a penalty on Seal Beach if they missed the Oct. 15 deadline for updating the current housing element of the general plan. However, the city could be sued in civil court. He said the last time that happened, in the 1990s, a judge ruled that Seal Beach did not have a valid housing element and ordered the city to stop issuing building permits.
Carla Watson said the Shops at Rossmoor Center would have been the perfect place.
Last year, residents of Rossmoor and condominiums on the Seal Beach side of Montecito Road defeated efforts to designate the shopping center as a potential site for affordable housing.
The owners of the shopping center had also opposed the change.
Councilman Sloan said the people in the townhomes on Montecito Road were told there would not be housing there. He said the city had to keep its word.
Some residents argued in favor of the so-called Marina Park site, a property Mayor Miller had asked the staff to look. The property is actually adjacent to Marina Park, on the southeast side of First Street.
A staff report said the property was zoned for oil extraction.
Bill Ihrke, a lawyer representing the owner of the Accurate Storage site, said Marina Park was also 4 acres and would have the same issues.
Barrow dismissed complaints by some Heron Pointe residents that the city did not give notice.
He said there were notices of meetings of the ad hoc committee and notices of the meetings of the Planning Commission. Last month, Deaton asked staff to contact the Boeing Corporation to see if they would agree to a zoning change for their property. Monday night, Basham reported that Boeing does not allow residential development of its properties.
Council members then discussed Seal Beach’s options for finding a new place to designate for 21 homes.
The council directed staff to contact the owners of the Marina Park property to see if they will allow the city to test for possible contamination.
