The Seal Beach City Council changed the zoning for 4 acres of industrial property across the street from the Seal Beach Police Department’s headquarters last week.
The change will allow residential housing to be built on the industrial property now occupied by Accurate Storage.
However, the council also asked staff to find out if it would be feasible to change the zoning on Boeing property instead.
The ordinance will return to the council on June 24 for a second reading, as required by law, and an update from staff about the possibility that the Boeing property could be rezoned instead.
Seal Beach residents who spoke to the council, many of them Heron Point residents, opposed the zoning change.
The council on Wednesday, May 29, approved the first reading of an ordinance to allow high density housing on land that was zoned for light industry. The council did this to comply with state mandates that the city identify a potential place to build 21 low or moderate income housing units.
The new ordinance created a potential location for 90 housing units.
The council recently passed an ordinance that would allow the property owner to continue using the land for light industry.
Community Development Director Jim Basham said the property could remain an industrial site until someone decides to build housing there.
According to Basham, Seal Beach has until October 2013 to get into compliance with state requirements for the current Housing Element. First, however, the city had to meet the requirements for the 2008 Housing Element.
Consultant John Douglas said Seal Beach needed to zone for 19 housing units for the 2008 element and two more for the new cycle.
Basham said there could be a maximum of 90 units on the Accurate Storage site property.District One Councilwoman Ellery Deaton said she was opposed to zoning for 90 units to meet a requirement for 21.
District Two Councilman David Sloan asked what would happen if the council did not act.
Basham said the California state government could de-certify Seal Beach’s Housing Element. He said Seal Beach could lose grant money.
Heron Point resident Lou Hamilton said if the city couldn’t get the Planning Commission to approve the zoning change, the council shouldn’t approve the change.
Hamilton suggested changing the zoning for the Boeing site instead.
“I want to keep the small town atmosphere,” Hamilton said.
He also opposed changing the zoning for 4 acres to create space for 90 units. He suggested changing the zoning of 1 or 1.2 acres of land instead.
Robert Goldberg, who represents District Three on the Planning Commission, said there would be no consequences if Seal Beach missed the October deadline for completing the Housing Element. He said the state provides a 120 day grace period for cities.
Goldberg said the 17-acre Boeing parking lot was mostly unused.
Basham said there was no guarantee that Boeing would agree to changing the zoning.
He guessed it might take at least three months to find out if it would be feasible to change the Boeing site’s zoning, but later said there was really no way to know how long it would take.
Consultant Douglas said the state was expecting Seal Beach to change the zoning for Accurate Storage.
He said the state might approve or reject a zoning change for the Boeing property.
Councilwoman Deaton said the council should continue with changing the zoning for the Accurate Storage site, but have staff look at changing the zoning for the Boeing property instead.However, Deaton cast the only dissenting vote against the ordinance that would change the zoning for the Accurate Storage site.
City Attorney Barrow said the council could postpone the second reading of the ordinance or pass the ordinance and repeal it at a later date.
Staff will update the council on June 24, at which time the council will make a decision about whether to pass the ordinance on its second reading or postpone a decision.
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