SEAL BEACH : Petition for Vote on Mola Plan Is Invalid

A residents group that gathered more than 4,000 signatures for a special election on the controversial Hellman Ranch project failed to properly word its petition, rendering the signatures void.

Because the petition circulated last year by members of Seal Beach Citizens for Parks, Open Space and Responsible Government failed to specifically include a request for a special election, the City Council can wait until March, 1992, to put the issue before voters. The petition drive was originally launched to force the council to set an earlier election date.

Group leaders said they do not want to wait until next year for the election because the city is losing money while controversy over the project drags on. The debate over Mola Development Corp.’s proposal to build on a 149-acre site is already 5 years old.

The company’s current plan includes 329 homes, 41 acres of wetlands and 26 acres of parkland on 149 acres. The new petition drive began last weekend and already 2,000 signatures have been collected, according to Eileen Padberg, a consultant for the group.

In last year’s petition drive, signatures were collected entirely by unpaid volunteers. This time, the group has hired a company to aid in its effort, with the legal firm that omitted the key words from the original petition picking up the bill, Padberg said.

“Our volunteers are exhausted and they want to save their energy for the campaign,” she said.

Group leaders said they expect to have more than the 2,621 necessary signatures by Monday, when the council is next scheduled to discuss a date for the election. If enough signatures are verified, the council will then be forced to call a special election.

Along with signature gatherers, pickets from Seal Beach Citizens United, a group that opposes the initiative, have been frequenting local shopping centers. The group claims the proposed project is unsafe because its construction site is near an earthquake fault.

“We’re trying to get the citizens aware of the issues involved, that the council did have valid reasons for turning the project down,” said Fay Dadbeh, a member of Seal Beach Citizens United. “We feel that the City Council should call the election whenever they feel it’s appropriate.”

Seal Beach Citizens for Parks, Open Space and Responsible Government turned to gathering necessary signatures after another effort to force a special election proved unsuccessful.

Raising eyebrows around the city and at the California secretary of state’s office, the Mola-backed group offered to pay all or part of the election costs if the council acted quickly to set an election date. The council has not accepted the offer and has postponed setting a date for the election.