SEAL BEACH : Developer’s Latest Park Plan Rejected

The city’s Recreation and Parks Commission has rejected the latest plans by Mola Development for a new public park near the Hellman Ranch property and wetlands.

Commission members turned the plan down because they felt it was confusing and it seemed to contain inflated cost estimates.

The proposed park would be located on the southwest side of the city on land adjacent to the Hellman Ranch property, where Mola Development has plans for a new residential project.

Mola representative Kirk Evans agreed to prepare a more coherent cost analysis in time for the next commission meeting, scheduled for Nov. 1.

But according to Evans, the estimated cost of developing the 15-acre park is higher than the $1.1 million that was originally agreed upon because commission members “are adding things onto it that weren’t there before.”

If the company included all the city’s wishes, the cost of the park would skyrocket to $1.9 million, he said.

The original plan, approved by the City Council in August, featured nine tennis courts, a 3,300-square-foot duck pond, restrooms, two basketball courts and landscaping, Evans said.

The revised proposal for park amenities, drafted by the park commission last month, calls for eliminating the duck pond and one of the tennis courts and adding a racquetball court, more grass areas, a sand volleyball court and two horseshoe pits.

In addition, the proposal called for a 2,000-square-foot community building complete with restrooms and a kitchen, a gazebo, a raised viewing area near the adjacent wetlands, more parking spaces and a storage area.

Mola architects estimate that the commission’s changes will increase the cost of the project by $800,000, but according to Gregory Weiler, commission chairman, part of the reason the cost is so high is that Mola’s prices are high.

“We may require an audit of this proposal by the city’s Finance Department before we can approve it,” Weiler said. “The commission is very disturbed with these numbers.”