ORANGE COUNTY VOICES: THE MOLA DEVELOPMENT ISSUE : Initiative Allows Builder, Not City to Call the Shots : If passed, its ambiguous and questionable provisions will enable the developer to bypass city ordinances.

Seal Beach residents intensely value a high quality of life for their community. The debate over the fate of the Hellman property is natural. Our future is at stake. As a member of the City Council, my duty is to conscientiously represent constituent views. So I must clearly oppose Measure A-91, the Mola Corp.’s development plan for this land. It is very detrimental to our small city.

Before I became a council member, I was unaware of how this plan would be implemented, believing that details and safeguards had been resolved on various regulatory levels. After taking office, however, my perspective changed with increased knowledge of its provisions. After extensive research, I found it contained numerous problems. They ranged from seismic and environmental issues to legal, financial and public safety concerns. Also present were violations of city ordinances, questionable amenities, impacts without remedies and lack of guarantees from the developer.

For these reasons, the plan was denied. The city intended to appoint a committee to resolve these problems, but its efforts were preempted by the developer with an initiative to force the city to accept its plan.

Measure A-91, proposed by Mola, will drain our general fund. The developer’s own financial analysis based on a similar plan with 340 homes showed a recurring deficit of over $174,000 annually to the fund.

Nowhere does the initiative say how the wetlands will be maintained. The park amenities outlined haven’t received Coastal Commission approval.

Our city attorney states that aspects of the initiative written by the Mola Corp. are ambiguous, misleading, and legally questionable. He further states that it’s not certain that the city will receive the benefits listed in the project description.

The initiative authorizes the city to relax development standards, allowing this housing tract to be different from other areas in the city. These changes can be made without any public hearing or notice to neighboring property owners. These houses will violate height limitations, setback regulations and our noise ordinance (some houses will have sealed windows). Parking standards call for covered spaces, not garages.

The highly touted development fees are merely a quick fix to a long-term problem. This development will adversely affect Seal Beach with the additional traffic it generates. It strains our water supply, infrastructure, services and maintenance and incurs liability from building on the nation’s most dangerous fault line, the Newport-Inglewood, which traverses the property.

Development by initiative is a thoroughly inappropriate way for a community. A specific plan needs bilateral agreement between city and developer to ensure all interests are served. I support property rights 100%. However, when property owners attempt something that adversely affects their neighbors, the city must step in. This initiative puts the Mola Corp. in total control of 225 acres of Seal Beach. The city will have no control at a time when flexibility is of utmost importance.

Measure B-91, on the other hand, is a concept from the residents themselves. It is on the ballot to show voters that Mola’s project is not the only option. It envisions a retail tax base to boost city funds. In no way can the proposed golf course, country club/pro shop or a small hotel overlooking a wide expanse of open wetlands area be mistaken for massive commercial development as the opponents claim. I would never support such a concept.

Seal Beach is in the midst of a revolution of sorts. We reject the outdated mind-set which builds on everything in sight with no thought for the future cost. People demand a new philosophy which enhances their present quality of life. They know it’s possible to have environmentally sensitive development with maximum open space while still ensuring a sound financial future.

Mola’s own environmental impact report states that this development will change Seal Beach from a city with a low-density, small-town atmosphere into an urban area typically found farther from the coast. Residents prize this small-town quality and have fought hard to save the city from becoming an overbuilt urban community.

It is my duty as a council member to only approve a plan that is environmentally sensitive, geologically sensible and financially beneficial. If Measure A-91 fails, the city will have an opportunity to create a specific plan that meets these needs. That’s why I know the people of Seal Beach will join me to vote ‘No’ on Measure A-91.