SEAL BEACH : Report on Bixby Project Due in April

The much-delayed environmental impact report for a proposal to build homes, apartments and a hotel in the College Park East neighborhood is expected to be released in April, city officials said this week.

Residents have been awaiting details about the proposed development, which is considered one of the city’s largest in recent years.

The Bixby Co. wants to build 98 detached homes, about 100 condos or apartments, a hotel and a restaurant around an 18-hole golf course near the corner of Seal Beach Boulevard and Lampson Avenue.

Company and city officials had hoped to release the environmental report last fall. But the report was delayed, in part because Bixby decided to reduce the number of proposed detached homes from 168 to 98, said Lee Whittenberg, Seal Beach’s planning director.

The environmental study will assess how the development would affect traffic, pollution, noise and other factors.

The site of the development is just west of the Los Alamitos Armed Forces Reserve Center, which contains an airstrip used regularly by government planes and helicopters.

A recent study by the reserve center found that the base’s operations--including the flights--do not pose a substantial safety risk to adjacent properties. The report also looked at the noise generated at the base.

The city has asked the government for more details about the report’s findings. Whittenberg said the city is concerned that the report based some of its conclusions on 1987 data when more recent information was available.