SEAL BEACH : City Must Find Site for Donated House

City officials have one year left to find a home for an 82-year-old house that was donated to the city four years ago.

While some residents are urging the city to preserve the historic house, others are wary of refurbishing and relocation costs that could reach $250,000, according to a city staff report.

“This staff report, in my opinion, leads any rational council to say we cannot possibly afford to do this,” local historian Gordon Shanks said to council members Monday night.

“It ought to be salvaged, and by salvaged I mean bulldozed.”

The council voted to accept the donation of the two-story structure, known as the “yellow house,” Monday night.

It is one of about 10 houses built in the same era that exist in Seal Beach, according to city officials.

The city has budgeted $30,000 for moving the house, but renovation and the possible need to purchase land could raise the total cost to from $60,000 to $250,000, City Manager Keith Till said.

Several potential locations in the city have been ruled out because of cost and space concerns.

“We have to put our heads together, meaning the private and the public sector, and see if we can come up with a way to save the house,” Till said. “We basically have one year left to do it.”

The house was donated by Annabelle and Robert Luraschi in conjunction with the city’s July 1991 approval of their plans to subdivide the land into four residential lots.

Two homes have been constructed on the lot, and the property owners have given the city a year to relocate the yellow house before they complete development plans.

Resident Carla Watson said the house is worth saving.

“It is a place that is worthy of note,” Watson told council members. “Anything that has lasted that long in this town, let’s not just brush aside.”