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SEAL BEACH : City Staff Remodels Building Permit Ban

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A city official says a recent court order blocking the city from issuing residential building permits applies only to new construction and remodeling, not repairs to plumbing or electrical systems.

Included under the “remodeling” category are the addition of new windows, load-bearing walls, exterior walls, roofing and room additions, Director of Development Lee Whittenberg told the City Council this week.

The city is still able to issue permits for any remodeling or new construction of detached buildings such as a free-standing shed or garage, Whittenberg said.

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The city normally issues 25 to 30 permits a month for new residential construction and remodeling, according to city staff members.

Whittenberg told council members he is “not quite sure” how to interpret the March 6 verbal ruling by Orange County Superior Court Commissioner Ronald L. Bauer. The commissioner is expected to issue a written order in the next few weeks which should clarify his ruling, Whittenberg said.

City attorneys and staff members are hoping the written order will allow the staff to issue permits for remodeling and specifically restrict only new residential construction, Whittenberg said.

“Right now, this is basically a wait-and-see kind of thing,” he said. “We expected to have it (the written order) last week--now we’re not sure when to expect it. We could get it tomorrow or three weeks from now.”

The order restricting construction will remain in effect until the city updates its local housing plan, which should have been revised by the city and approved by the state Department of Housing and Community Development last summer. By May, the City Council is expected to approve a new housing plan, a document that addresses the city’s future housing needs.

Seal Beach is one of 16 Orange County cities that either failed to submit housing plans by last summer’s deadline or turned in plans that did not include adequate strategies for dealing with issues such as low-income housing, state officials said.

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According to council member Joe Hunt, the council made a mistake by not making the housing plan a priority.

“It was one of those things we just let slide,” Hunt said. “The council sets priorities for staff, and this was not one of them.”

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