Seal Beach : Developer Outspending Foes on Ballot Measure

The Bixby Ranch Co. has vastly outspent opponents of one of its planned developments--one of two items on the Jan. 29 ballot--and has mailed glossy brochures to some voters extolling the virtues of the hotly contested building project.

The special election was called to decide whether Bixby may proceed with the development of three four-story office buildings and two restaurants on an 18-acre site in the northern part of the city.

The latest campaign spending statements, filed at City Hall and covering all spending through Dec. 15, show that Bixby has paid $5,422.20 for the brochures, which call the project “one of the most beautiful office parks in Southern California, (with) more than $1 million of garden-like landscaping.”

Besides Bixby’s direct expenditure, a group calling itself Citizens for a Better Seal Beach reported monetary contributions of $200 along with non-monetary contributions of $16,400, donated by Bixby for “professional services and survey.”

Opponents of the project, meanwhile, calling themselves Concerned Citizens of Seal Beach, reported $661 in total contributions, monetary and non-monetary.

The project measure is Proposition A on the ballot.

The project, proposed for the vacant site bordered by Seal Beach Boulevard, the San Diego Freeway and Rossmoor, received a negative recommendation from the Planning Commission on a unanimous vote last summer, and was approved by the City Council by a 3-2 vote.

Opponents then collected enough signatures to prompt the special election.

They said they object to the height of the office buildings--twice that usually allowed in the city--and to the expected increase in traffic. The project site also lies at the end of a Los Alamitos Air Station runway in what opponents contend is a potential aircraft accident zone.

Opponents also noted that the office buildings would overlook and invade the privacy of the residential Rossmoor neighborhood.

If rejected by a majority of voters in the $21,000 election, the project cannot be approved again for at least a year.

Also on the ballot is Proposition B, which asks residents whether they would object to a plan by the California Department of Transportation to widen Pacific Coast Highway in the city.