ROSSMOOR : Text of Measures on Wall OKd for Ballot

Directors of the Rossmoor Community Services District have moved closer to putting the issue of the Rossmoor perimeter wall on the November ballot.

By a 4-1 vote last week, directors approved the text of two ballot measures that would be presented to the voters on the wall. One would make the district responsible for repair and maintenance of the wall and the other would impose a special property tax to pay for such work.

District officials said the two measures are linked, and both would need to pass to ensure the upkeep of the wall.

Director Joyce Bloom dissented, reiterating her position that private owners of the wall, as well as the cities of Los Alamitos and Seal Beach, should maintain the wall, and not the district.

The 1 1/2-mile red, brick wall, which was built in 1959, has become an emotional issue to residents of this community, who consider the wall a historical landmark for the community.

In addition, members of the Rossmoor Homeowners Assn., who have been behind the effort to repair the wall, said that sections of the aging structure are also in danger of toppling and could hurt children.

But directors have resisted the efforts because of the cost of repairing and maintaining the wall. Last year, they decided to put the issue to the voters after a survey by the homeowners group indicated that a majority of the residents want the wall preserved.

Part of the problem was that several agencies, including Seal Beach and Los Alamitos, which owns sections of the wall, have refused to take responsibility for its repair, officials said.

District officials said Los Alamitos and Seal Beach are now willing to give up their sections to the district. But district General Manager Bill Sheldon said that parts of the wall may be inside private land.

“One property owner could sabotage the whole thing,” Sheldon said last week. He said a survey would be conducted to determine what sections of the wall are in public and private properties.

Last week’s vote was preliminary, and the board will consider in July the final wording of the ballot question, including the arguments for and against the proposals, district officials said.

An impartial analysis of the measures would also appear on the ballot, district officials said.

William Wynder, the district’s attorney, said that the measure asking voters if they want the district to take over the wall needs a simple majority to pass. But the measure imposing a special tax needs a two-thirds majority, he said.

Sheldon, the general manager, had said that preliminary studies indicate that it would take a onetime assessment of about $15 from the community’s 3,555 parcels to create a fund for the wall’s repair and maintenance.