Council Vote Won’t Delay Bixby Telecast

For the second meeting in a row, the City Council has voted against allowing a live broadcast of environmental board hearings on the controversial Bixby Ranch development--even though their own attorney told them the vote means nothing.

“It’s out of the city’s hands,” City Atty. Quinn Barrow said.

The debate began two weeks ago when Councilwoman Patty Campbell asked the council to vote in support of showing tonight’s Environmental Quality Control Board hearings live on the city’s public-access channel. The motion died for lack of support.

City officials said they were concerned that a live broadcast of the hearings, normally videotaped and shown later, would set a precedent. Campbell countered that a live broadcast would allow more people to get the facts on the project.

At Monday’s meeting, Mayor Marilyn Bruce Hastings again put the issue up for discussion and a council vote. Council members voted 4 to 1 in favor of taping the hearing and showing it later.

But the vote was moot.

Public-access volunteers said the hearing will be aired live at 6:30 tonight when the meeting takes place at City Hall, 211 8th St. The panel will be considering the effect of a proposed commercial and residential development on the Bixby Ranch Co. property. The panel has until the end of May to submit revisions to the project’s draft Environmental Impact Report.

The draft report is available on the Internet at https://www.ci.seal-beach.ca.us and at the city clerk’s office.