SEAL BEACH : Preschool Operator Petitions for Trailer

A preschool operator presented city officials with a petition Monday asking for permission to keep a trailer in the alley behind the preschool on Seal Beach Boulevard.

Seretta Fielding presented the City Council with 45 signatures from parents of her preschoolers requesting a reprieve for the trailer, which she parked in the alley six years ago as a temporary way to cope with high winds and provide privacy.

The council decided in July that Fielding must move the trailer to comply with codes. She received a notice ordering her to remove it by Friday.

If she does not do so, the city will issue a second notice and might eventually take other measures to remove the trailer, City Manager Jerry L. Bankston said.

Fielding has told city officials that she will remove the trailer if a proposal to rezone the area, which would allow her to build a two-story structure, is passed.

The area is zoned commercial; it would need a mixed-use designation for Fielding to build a residential structure there, Bankston said.

The Planning Commission told Fielding in June that she could keep the trailer there for a year, until the city completes its revision of design, development and zoning standards for the area. That decision was reviewed and overturned by the City Council after resident Charles Antos appealed it.

Rezoning discussions have dragged on for years, but Bankston said Tuesday that the Planning Commission is tentatively scheduled to consider the issue in October.