Seal Beach officials are looking at the budget, parking, a possible sales tax, and an update to the Seal Beach Zoning Code. That’s not the complete list.
“Quite frankly I don’t know of a time um since I’ve been here when our staff team has been tasked with so many overwhelming items in our workload,” said City Manager Ingram during her report to the April 22 City Council meeting. (City officials expressed concern about the workload and staffing during the 2023 Strategic Planning meeting. See “City talks about staffing issues,” at sunnews.org.)
According to Ingram, city staff is currently working on:
• The draft of the 2024-25 budget.
• The state-mandated update of Housing Element of the General Plan. (The state government has required Seal Beach to plan for 1,243 residential units.)
• The Zoning Code update. (In order to plan for more units, Seal Beach needs to change zoning citywide.)
• The EIR for the Zoning Code update.
• The Local Coastal Program. (“The Coastal Act requires that local governments develop Local Coastal Programs (LCPs) (consisting of Land Use Plans and Implementing ordinances) to carry out policies of the California Coastal Act at the local level,” according to the California Coastal Commission website. “Once certified by the Coastal Commission as consistent with and adequate to carry out the Coastal Act, responsibility for issuance of most Coastal Development Permits under the certified LCP is delegated to the local government. The Commission retains some continuing permit and appeal jurisdiction following LCP certification, and responsibility to certify any amendments to the LCP.”)
• Community polling to look at a possible sales tax. (The council discussed a possible sales tax during the 2024 Strategic Planning meeting held earlier this year. The city would have until August to put a sales tax measure on the ballot. See “SB Finance Director: ‘City is not broke’” at sunnews.org.)
• The Old Ranch Country Club proposal. (The Old Ranch Country Club has applied for a new specific plan to allow development of the site for residential and hotel use. College Park East residents have expressed concerns about the project’s potential impact on flooding.)
Those were the highlights, according to Ingram.
“I just really wanted to highlight the major items for you and just would respectfully request of council that you please remain mindful um of these priorities and initiatives in our work plan that you established through this Strategic Plan process especially when you’re considering the potential for new initiatives and council requests for agenda items moving forward especially right now in the short term,” Ingram said.
City Manager Ingram also mentioned upcoming City Council items:
• The Main Street Specific Plan amendment public hearing. (For details, see “Planners support Main Street Specific Plan amendment,” at sunnews.org.)
• The Parking Committee recommendations.
• Budget workshops currently scheduled to be held on Tuesday, May 14, and Wednesday, May 15. (Those workshops are scheduled after the Sun’s editorial deadline for the May 16 issue and will be covered the following week.)
