SEAL BEACH : Council Backs RV Camping at Park

At the urging of local recreational vehicle users, the City Council voted Monday night to tell state agencies that overnight camping should be included in the Sunset Marina Park.

The council voted in 1989 to support a plan that includes facilities for recreational vehicles, but the decision is up to the county. The park, formerly known as Sunset Aquatic Park, is within city boundaries, but zoning and planning decisions for the area are made by the County Board of Supervisors.

Betty Blank, chairwoman of the Fountain Valley Recreational Vehicles Assn., and others at the Seal Beach meeting Monday asked the council to express its opinion to the State Lands Commission and the California Coastal Commission.

Blank said a plan with 98 RV campsites and 132 dry boat-storage spots would benefit many more people than another plan that includes only boat storage.

Erlewin (Gil) Gilbert, director of the Southern California Good Sam Club, said those who oppose the overnight facilities mistakenly believe that the users would be vagrants.

“Most of us are senior citizens. It’s a way of life with us,” Gilbert said.

The Good Sam Club, a large association of recreational vehicle enthusiasts, has unsuccessfully sought overnight accommodations at Sunset Marina. Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder has sided with full-time residents of Huntington Harbour who oppose RV facilities there.

The park has been controversial recently, after the Times Orange County Edition reported last month that the county was close to renewing a long-term lease for the facility and its 276-slip marina, eight years before the current lease expires and with no competitive bidding. Wieder’s son had been employed by the private operator of the county-owned marina.

Proposed plans would entail the county spending $5 million for improvements at Sunset Marina Park and loaning $3.4 million to its operator.

The council resolution, favoring overnight facilities at the park, will be forwarded to state agencies, officials said.