SEAL BEACH : Planning Commission Split on Bixby Ranch Project

The Planning Commission reached a split decision this week on the proposed Bixby Ranch Co. development, voting to approve the company’s environmental impact report while rejecting a general plan amendment required for the overall project.

The commission’s recommendations will be forwarded to the City Council, which will have the final say on the 223-home Old Ranch development plan, which includes a hotel and restaurant near the Old Ranch Country Club.

The council is expected to review the proposal in August.

“It’s a toss-up whether it gets through the City Council or not,” Commissioner Jim Sharp said. “I’m a betting man, but I wouldn’t want to wager any money on it.”

Sharp and Commissioner Mary Law were on the losing side of the Planning Commission’s 3-2 vote against granting a general plan amendment for the project. But the commission did vote 4 to 1 to approve the project’s environmental impact report, with Planning Commission Chairman Anton Dahlman casting the sole dissenting vote.

Dahlman said he was concerned that estimates of noise generated by aircraft at the nearby Los Alamitos Armed Forces Reserve Center were based on mathematical models instead of actual testing. And Dahlman also objected to the lack of a geological analysis to identify potential earthquake hazards.

“Even if the City Council likes this project, they will be required to approve a statement of overriding consideration, that the benefit to the city is so great that it outweighs the environmental disadvantages,” Dahlman said.

The city’s Environmental Quality Control Board previously found the environmental impact report to be “inadequate” because of board members’ concerns over traffic congestion and aircraft noise.