Rossmoor Wall Issue Grows More Complex

The city’s efforts to find a quick and easy way out of caring for the crumbling Rossmoor Wall just got lengthier and more complicated.

In response to a petition filed by city officials to detach Seal Beach from any responsibility for maintenance and repair of the deteriorating wall, the Local Agency Formation Commission has requested what officials say is an unreasonable amount of information.

LAFCO, the county agency responsible for approving mergers and annexations, requested detailed analyses on police and fire response times, tree trimming costs and storm drain repairs in the unincorporated Rossmoor area.

“We are trying to solve this existing, long-standing problem in an expeditious way,” said City Manager Keith Till of the wall, which intrudes into Seal Beach. “We wanted to avoid further waste of public resources.”

But according to Till, the cost of gathering the information requested by LAFCO could reach “tens of thousands of dollars” in consultant fees and staff time.

Los Alamitos has also filed for detachment from responsibility for the wall, and similar detailed information was requested of that city by LAFCO.

Los Alamitos City Manager Robert Dominguez said that nearly 80% of the wall falls into Los Alamitos boundaries, but that questions about police and fire response times in Rossmoor shouldn’t be considered in the city’s attempt to limit its responsibility for the wall.

Joyce Crosthwaite, assistant executive officer of LAFCO, said the information requested by the agency is only needed to complete the currently incomplete applications.

Rossmoor residents will decide in November whether to place an assessment on their property to pay for wall repairs.