SEAL BEACH : Geologist Needed to Gauge Project Faults

The city is searching for a geologist who can complete a comprehensive analysis of the geological hazards on the Old Hellman Ranch property in time for the next regular meeting of the City Council on June 11.

Councilwoman Gwen Forsythe called for the assessment this week, saying she could not support Mola Development Corp.’s proposed 329-unit residential project on that land unless she was certain it was safe to build on.

Forsythe, who indicated before her election to the council that she approved of Mola’s $200-million project, is now hesitating because of new information she was “not privy to” until she took office.

“Material that I have recently read says you can’t build there,” she said. “I just need to have my concerns about the geology of that piece of property entirely resolved.”

According to assessments by state agencies and by developer-funded environmental reports, two faults run through the 149-acre property and much of the land has a high potential of liquefaction during an earthquake.

But Mola attorney Jeff Oderman said that presence of faults on the land is no reason to deny development. Oderman protested that such a decision would be “illegal,” arguing that the city had allowed others to develop on land with similar characteristics and that Mola is entitled to fair and equal treatment.

The city will pay a geological engineer as much as $5,000 to pull together all the geological reports available on the land and give an impartial recommendation to the City Council and staff as to how to deal with the land.

City staff hopes to obtain an expert from either a local university or a state agency by early next week.