On Friday, June 16, I wrote Seal Beach Community Development Director Alexa Smittle to ask questions about recent code enforcement on Main Street.
“A merchant tells me that the city is not allowing businesses to fly flags. Is that correct?
“I’ve also heard that the city is requiring the removal of sidewalk signs and exterior store decorations. Is that correct?”
On Wednesday, June 21, she replied/wrote back. Unfortunately, the email arrived after our deadline so I couldn’t report Smittle’s answers in the June 23 newspaper.
Here’s what Smittle wrote:
“The City is enforcing the Municipal Code, relevant sections related to your questions are below. As was noted in the April 21st and May 5th City Manager Newsletters, the City is taking a coordinated code enforcement approach to Main Street this summer. Main Street businesses were provided a letter and personal visits from City staff reminding them how to follow the Municipal Code and who to contact with questions. Generally speaking, merchandise and signage may not encroach onto a public right-of-way without a permit, and one flag per frontage is allowed.
“7.35.010 (B) (5): Obstruction on Public Property. No person shall obstruct any street, alley, sidewalk, public way or public property by causing or permitting to be placed, erected or set in position any fence, post, or other barrier, or by sitting in or upon any public hallway, public sidewalk or public walkway area. This prohibition does not prohibit sitting on the seat of a bench legally placed upon a public hallway or upon a public sidewalk, or standing on the sidewalk at a bus stop for the purpose of boarding a bus.
“7.35.010 (B) (6): Encroachment on Public Property. No person shall erect, construct or maintain any structure, in whole or in part, in or on any street, alley, sidewalk, public way or public property, without an encroachment permit. This provision shall not apply to lawfully installed newsracks.
“Table 11.4.25.025 (A): Standards for Signs in Commercial, Mixed-Use, and Other Nonresidential Districts.
“Flags – 1 per lot frontage, 12 Square feet, if on flag poles (40 ft. maximum and not less than 12 ft).”
Band on the Sand permit issued
Seal Beach Recreation Manager Tim Kelsey, during an in-person interview at City Hall on Monday, June 26, said that the organizers of Band on the Sand had submitted everything they needed to submit to Seal Beach. Kelsey expected the city to issue the special event permit for the annual event that same day.
“We are looking forward to our 8th Annual Band on the Sand taking place on Monday, July 3rd from 3:00 p.m. to dusk at the First Street beach lot,” wrote event applicant Rosie Ritchie, of Beach House on the River, LLC, in a text message to the Sun. She sent the message on Tuesday, June 27.
“Happy to share that this event has been passed onto The Beach House restaurant in Seal Beach,” Ritchie wrote.
“This year it’s structured a bit differently,” Ritchie wrote. “Because safety and security are our priority, we will have the area fenced off; offering a beer garden for those who have purchased one or more of the 26 tables available,” Ritchie wrote.
According to Ritchie, all tables have sold out.
Water questions answered
As I told you last week, on June 12, I emailed Seal Beach Public Works Director Iris Lee with some questions about water.
Well, Lee replied at 7:40 p.m., Friday, June 23: “My apologies for the late response. I thought this was sent out, but was mistaken.”
Sun: “I won’t need an answer to this before close of business Monday, June 19, at the earliest. According to a Feb. 2, 2023, email from John Kennedy, executive director of Engineering/Local Resources of the Orange County Water District, the OCWD board increased the BPP for the remaining five months of FY22-23 to 96.2%. What is the BPP?”
Lee: “BPP stands for Basin Production Percentage. This is the percentage that a water producer’s total potable water demand that can be produced from the groundwater basin without a basin equity assessment.”
Sun: “What is the OCWD percentage of BPP for FY23-24?”
Lee: “OCWD’s average effective BPP is 85%.”
Sun: “In your reply of that same date, you wrote: ‘If at all possible, we’ll need to go 100% well for the rest of the FY.’ Did you mean an OCWD well or were you referring to a Seal Beach well?”
Lee: “This refers to Seal Beach’s pumping percentage.”
Sun: “If a Seal Beach well, what is the current percentage for the Seal Beach well?”
Lee: “Seal Beach is currently pumping at 99+%.”
