A recent California Coastal Commission staff report recommended that commissioners deny a request for a coastal development permit for the Bay City Partners’ Ocean Place project.
The commission is scheduled to hold a hearing on the application on Wednesday, Oct. 9.
Seal Beach, Bay City Partners and Marina Beach House have filed the application for a permit to build residential housing on the land that once upon a time belonged to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power.
Ed Selich, project manager for the Bay City Partners, said he was still reading the staff report in a Monday, Sept. 30, email to the Sun Newspaper. The report is 208 pages long.
The report gave three primary reasons for opposing the development:
- Private residential development is inconsistent with the Coastal Act’s priority use for land that could be developed for a visitor serving use, according to the staff report.
- There is a public trust easement on part of the land.
- The residential use would conflict with the on-going use of a recreational boating support facility.
In an Aug. 13 letter to the commission, Selich proposed four conditions to address concerns of commission staff:
- Bay City Partners proposed paying a fee to offset the loss of visitor serving land. The money would go to a hostelling project planned in Long Beach. Selich suggested a formula that would put the fee between $121,272 and $166,749. “We would round that up to $175,000,” Selich said.
The proposal was apparently based on a similar fee paid in Malibu.
When the Coastal Commission approved the demolition of the Seal Beach Inn and Gardens in May 2006, staff and the owner agreed to a mitigation fee of $87,810 to compensate the state for the loss of 23 at the bed and breakfast.
However, the commission staff report said the applicants should consider a visitor serving use for the land first.
- Proposed condition two would guarantee that the open space and landscaping would actually take place.
This was apparently a reference to passages in the Coastal Commission staff report that expressed concern because Seal Beach does not yet own the 6.4 acres of open space that Bay City Partners agreed to give the city if and when the Coastal Commission allows them to build the Ocean Place residential project.
- Proposed condition three would mitigate staff concerns about noise coming from the boat sale and repair business by using sound walls.
- Proposed condition four would have Seal Beach guaranteeing that as part of their yet-to-be-approved Local Coastal Plan the city would make a good faith effort to add new visitor serving designations in their land use plan.
Staff land use issue
Historically, opponents of the Bay City Partners project have advocated the site-specific plan that existed until quite recently. The old plan called for a hotel on the land.
The commission staff found that the land could support a hotel, a finding that contradicted the conclusion of a consultant’s evaluation of the feasibility of putting a hotel there.
However, the report went on to say there were several other uses. “Limiting visitor-serving development to only a hotel use is too narrow since there are other uses that would provide opportunities for the public to enjoy the coast,” the report said.
Instead, the report suggested that “commercial, commercial recreation, marine commercial, lower-cost visitor and recreational uses should be considered.”
The staff report concluded that the applicants’ assessment that a residential development would be profitable was “not a reasonable investment backed- expectation.” Based on that analysis, commission staff argued that rejecting the application would not be an illegal taking of the property.
Reactions
Brian Kyle, one of the Bay City Partners, referred the Sun to project manager Selich, who was still reading the report at press time.
District One Councilwoman Ellery Deaton’s comment included advice to the general public.
“This council voted to allow 32 homes in exchange for almost 6.5 acres of public park land. Now it is up to the Coastal Commission to hold public hearings and make the final decision. If you feel strongly about this project, I urge you to attend the public hearings and testify,” she said.
Seal Beach City Manager Jill Ingram was apparently disappointed with the staff report.
“Although the City is disappointed with the Coastal Commission staff recommendation for denial of the DWP/Ocean Place Project, we look forward to the Coastal Commission public hearing and the Coastal Commission’s consideration of the significant merits of this project,” Ingram said.
“The development of this property and park site has been a priority goal of this City Council, and we support this important project on behalf of our residents, businesses, and visitors, as it will bring a wonderful, new, passive open space park that will provide additional visitor-serving amenities to our community.” Ingram said.
The staff report is now available on the commission website. To see the report, go to the agenda for Wednesday, Oct. 9.
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