THE AGRICULTURAL HERITAGE : SEAL BEACH : Navy’s Neighbors Cringe at Cabbages

Although Leisure World is just a few miles from downtown Long Beach, the retirement community has always offered residents a hint of country living--thanks to the roughly 1,300 acres of farmland next door at the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station.

Parts of an expansive field off Seal Beach Boulevard turn a rich green during the summer as cabbage, pumpkins and strawberries are grown.

But with the bountiful vistas come a horrid odor.

“It’s like something rotting,” said William J. Doane, a Leisure World resident and Seal Beach City Council member. “It is kind of an unpleasant smell.”

The stench emanates from rotting pieces of cabbage and cauliflower that are left during harvest to enrich the soil.

The smell has long been a bone of contention to Leisure World residents, especially those who live closest to Seal Beach Boulevard.

In recent years, the Navy has attempted to reduce the smell by having crops planted farther away from Leisure World, said base spokesman Joe Davidson.

That has helped somewhat, but residents still report smelling the odor.

“It’s a minor irritation,” Doane said.

Farmers are allowed to rent land stretching from the active part of the Navy base northward to the San Diego Freeway.