SEAL BEACH : Old Ranch Project Worries Neighbors

The largest development to be proposed in the city since the ill-fated Hellman Ranch project is expected to come before the City Council and Planning Commission over the next few months.

The proposal to build hundreds of homes, apartments and hotel rooms around the Old Ranch Golf Course off Lampson Avenue has already raised the ire of some residents, who argue that the project is too large and will increase traffic and noise in the area.

Though the debate reminds some of the discord in 1991 over Hellman Ranch, council members said they hope to avoid the acrimonious battles that marked the earlier development, which was eventually rejected by the city and is now the subject of a lawsuit filed against Seal Beach by developers.

“Hopefully, we will be able to avoid that,” said Councilman Frank Laszlo, who represents the College Park East neighborhood near the proposed development. “I hope it won’t be emotional like (the Hellman controversy). . . . We want to be able to deal with this.”

Officials from the developer, the Bixby Co., could not be reached for comment Tuesday. But plans that the company filed with the city show that it seeks to build 168 single-family homes, 100 to 125 apartments, a 15,000-square-foot restaurant and a 150-room hotel on 231 acres of land. The development also calls for the existing golf course to be expanded from 130 acres to 180 acres.

Laszlo, a veteran of the city’s slow-growth movement, said his concerns about the golf course development stem mainly from the potential traffic impacts--especially at the already congested intersection of Lampson Avenue and Seal Beach Boulevard.

Lampson Avenue is the main route used by College Park East residents to get from their homes to the San Diego Freeway and Seal Beach Boulevard. Laszlo said that adding an intense new development to the area might back up traffic and make the intersection more difficult to navigate.

“There are going to be a lot of people concerned about that corner,” Laszlo said. “I’ve already got a number of calls on it.”

Nonetheless, he praised the developer, Bixby Co., for “usually (having) pretty good projects. When they build something, it’s pretty high quality.”

Though an environmental impact report on the project hasn’t been released, city officials said they have received general plans for the project. The homes, designed for upscale living, would be built in “islands” around the golf course, said Planning Director Lee Whittenberg.

Once the environmental impact report is released, the city’s environmental quality board will review it and determine whether the report is adequate.

After that, the Planning Commission will take up the proposal in a process that will probably include several public hearings, Whittenberg said. Because the project requires several zoning changes, the City Council will take a final vote on the plan.

The city hasn’t seen such a large development proposal since the Hellman Ranch proposal, which called for 329 homes on 149 acres off Seal Beach Boulevard.