SEAL BEACH : Petition Tally High Enough for Election

A group of residents has gathered enough signatures to force a special election to decide whether Mola Development Corp. should be allowed to build 329 homes on the Hellman Ranch Property, the city clerk said.

City Clerk Joanne M. Yeo has validated 4,005 signatures of the 4,482 submitted by Seal Beach Citizens for Parks, Open Space and Responsible Government. Only 2,688 were needed to call a special election.

Among the invalid signatures were those of 67 people who asked that their names be removed from the petition, Yeo said. Opponents of the initiative had passed out flyers asking people to request that their names be removed.

The certified signatures will be presented to the City Council at its Jan. 28 meeting. At that time, council members will have the option of approving the initiative or calling a special election, which would be in May or June, Yeo said.

The initiative has received the financial backing of Mola and the support of Mayor Edna Wilson, Councilman Joe Hunt and many former council members. Supporters of the plan say it would be financially advantageous to the city, since Mola has agreed to contribute $1 million to the city’s general fund reserve and the project is expected to generate more than $500,000 a year in redevelopment money.

In addition, they say, the plan would provide the city with 41.4 acres of environmentally valuable wetlands, preserve and restore Gum Grove Park and provide a new community park.

But opponents of the initiative dispute the plan’s financial and environmental advantages and say that an earthquake fault beneath the property makes the land unfit for development. The three council members who oppose Mola’s plan--Frank Laszlo, Gwen Forsythe and Marilyn Bruce Hastings--have discussed placing an alternative measure on the ballot that would restrict the bulk of the property to open space, allowing commercial development only on a bluff area along Seal Beach Boulevard.

At its last meeting, the City Council requested that the city attorney conduct a comprehensive analysis of the Mola initiative. The report is expected later this month or early next month, officials said.